LSU vs Illinois State 11/21/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Illinois State Redbirds and the LSU Tigers meet in college basketball action from the John Gray Gymnasium on Monday.

The Illinois State Redbirds come into this game off of a 70-67 loss to Northwestern State last time out. Kendall Lewis leads the Redbirds in scoring and rebounding, averaging a double-double per game with 16 PPG and 12 RPG while Darius Burford has 10.8 PPG with a team-high 3 APG as the only other double-digit scorer for Illinois State up to this point in the year. As a team, Illinois State is averaging 64.5 PPG on 42.5% shooting from the field, 35% from three and 81.5% from the foul line this season.

The LSU Tigers will try to build on a 91-62 win over New Orleans in their last matchup. Adam Miller leads the Tigers in scoring with 17 PPG while Justice Hill has 12 PPG with a team-high 5 APG to lead LSU in the assist department. KJ Williams has 11.7 PPG with a team-high 7.3 RPG to lead the Tigers on the glass and to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for LSU this season. As a team, LSU is averaging 75.3 PPG on 44.6% shooting from the field, 40.6% from three and 73.5% from the foul line this season.

Illinois State is 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games against a team with a winning record while the over is 22-8 in their last 30 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600. LSU is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 neutral site games while the under is 5-0 in their last 5 games following a win by 20 or more points.

I get the case to be made for an underdog in some spots, but this for me is not one of them. LSU is just the better team on both ends of the floor and Illinois State was struggling to get by (and didn’t in one game) against Northwestern State, a team that’s been a doormat against D-I competition for the last few seasons. I think Illinois State is in trouble here. Give me LSU in a beatdown.