Illinois State vs Northern Iowa College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 2/26/21
Illinois State vs Northern Iowa College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions 2/26/21
2021-02-26 21:00:00 EDT
The Northern Iowa Panthers and the Illinois State Redbirds meet Friday in college basketball action from Redbird Arena.
Northern Iowa enters this one at 7-15 so far. The Panthers are 1-3 in their last four games and coming off a loss to Drake. As for Illinois State, they’re 7-15 this year as well. The Redbirds are 2-1 in their last three and coming off a win over Bradley. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Northern Iowa hasn’t had a lot of consistency this season, and they’ve won consecutive games just once so far. The Panthers are 2-5 over their last seven games with losses to Southern Illinois, Indiana State, Valparaiso and twice to Drake.
In the 77-69 loss to Drake on February 17, Northern Iowa’s Austin Phyfe put up 19 points with four boards and three assists. Trae Berhow added 13 points with five rebounds and two assists, and Nate Heise had 12 points with four rebounds and four assists.
Over on the Redbirds’ side, they were 3-3 early on in the season but the wins have been few and far between since then. The good news is that Illinois State is 2-1 in their last three, splitting a pair with Southern Illinois and taking out Bradley.
in the 88-71 win over Bradley last week, Illinois State’s Emon Washington was the top scorer on 20 points with eight boards and four assists. Josiah Strong added 18 points with four boards and two assists, and Dedric Boyd also scored 18 for the Redbirds.
Illinois State is 0-3-1 ATS in their last four home games and 15-34-2 ATS in their last 51 after an ATS win. The Redbirds are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 Friday games and the under is 4-1 in their last five overall.
Meanwhile, the Panthers are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 Friday games and 7-19-1 ATS in their last 27 overall. Northern Iowa is 1-8 ATS in their last nine road games and the under is 5-1 in their last six overall.
PICK: I’m going to take Illinois State here. This should be a pretty good matchup regardless, though. In any case, the Redbirds have scored fairly well in their last two victories, notching a combined 168 points in that pair. Northern Iowa has hit 70 points just once in the last four games, but they should score a fair amount in this one. I like the Redbirds slightly better on a cover.
