Northern Iowa vs Illinois State Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 1/18/23

The Illinois State Redbirds and the Northern Iowa Panthers meet Wednesday in college basketball action from McLeod Center. Illinois State is 8-11 so far. The Redbirds lost to Southern Illinois in their last game. As for Northern Iowa, they’re currently 9-9 after a loss to Belmont on Saturday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Illinois State Redbirds 

Illinois State went 6-8 to start out the year with wins over Eastern Illinois, NW State, Belmont, Eastern Michigan, SIUE and Chicago State. The Redbirds are 2-3 since then with losses to Northern Iowa, Indiana State and Southern Illinois. 

On Saturday versus Southern Illinois, the Redbirds took a 35-32 advantage into the second half. Illinois State scored just 22 points from there and lost 69-57. Liam McChesney topped the team on 13 points and five rebounds. 

Northern Iowa Panthers 

Over on the Northern Iowa side, they began at 6-8 as well with wins over Wartburg, NIU, Evansville, Towson, St. Bonaventure and Illinois State. The Panthers are 3-1 since then with a lone loss to Belmont. 

Back on Saturday versus Belmont, the Panthers were down 44-31 going into the second half. Northern Iowa made a game of it from there but still lost 76-72. Trey Campbell was tops on the team with 16 points.

ANDREW’S FREE PICK

I’ll probably stick with Northern Iowa here. The Panthers are on a 4-1 stretch right now, scoring 66 or more points in all five of those outings. The last time these teams met back on December 31, Northern Iowa powered out a 66-60 road win thanks to 31 first-half points. Considering Illinois State has hit 67 or more points in three of their last four games, this one could end up a high-scoring affair. Ultimately I like Northern Iowa better on the cover, though.