Illinois State vs Valparaiso Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 1/21/23

The Valparaiso Beacons and the Illinois State Redbirds meet Saturday in college basketball action from Redbird Arena. Valparaiso is 8-12 so far this year. The Beacons beat UIC in their last game. As for Illinois State, they’re 8-12 as well following a loss to Northern Iowa on Wednesday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Valparaiso Beacons 

Valparaiso managed wins over Western Michigan, Incarnate Word, JMU, Trinity Christian, Elon and Stonehill during their first 14 games. Since then it’s been a 2-4 stretch with wins over Evansville and UIC. 

In the UIC game on Tuesday, Valparaiso was up 36-33 by halftime. The Beacons posted a 40-33 run from there and won it 76-66. Leading team scorer was Kobe King with 24 points, four rebounds and two assists. 

Illinois State Redbirds

Over on the Illinois State side, they beat Eastern Illinois, NW State, Belmont, Eastern Michigan, SIUE and Chicago State in their first 14 outings. The Redbirds have since gone 2-4 as well with wins over Evansville and Missouri State

Matched up against Northern Iowa on Wednesday, the Redbirds trailed 30-33 by halftime. Illinois State posted a 33-32 advantage in the second but still lost 65-63. Seneca Knight led the team on 16 points with seven rebounds. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK

I’m going to stick with Valparaiso. Probably staying away from this one, though; neither team has played all that well lately. Valparaiso has at least scored reasonably well; they’ve hit 66 or more points in four of their last five outings (a 2-3 run). As for Illinois State, they’ve been all over the place on the scoreboard and have hit 63 or fewer points in four of their last seven. This one could go a lot of different ways, and I think it’ll end up being close for most of the game. I like Valparaiso a little better cover-wise, though.