The Evansville Aces and the Saint Louis Billikens meet in college basketball action from the Chaifetz Arena on Saturday night.
The Evansville Aces will look to build on their 78-74 win over Miami-Ohio in their season opener. Kenny Strawbridge led the Aces with 23 points on 9 of 17 shooting while Yacine Toumi added 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting with a pair of threes and a pair of steals. Marvin Coleman II added 11 points with a team-high 4 assists and a pair of steals to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for the Aces in the win. Sekou Kaile added a team-high 10 rebounds as well in the victory.
The Saint Louis Billikens will be out to build on their 91-68 win over Murray State in their last game. Javonte Perkins led the way with 21 points on 6 of 14 shooting with 4 threes while Gibson Jimerson added 20 points with 4 threes. Javon Pickett had 13 points on 6 of 11 shooting with a team-high 13 rebounds for the double-double while Jake Forrester added 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting to cap off the scoring in double figures for the Billikens in the win. Yuri Collins added 8 points with a team-high 14 assists while Francis Okoro added 13 rebounds of his own in the victory.
Evansville is 5-12 ATS in their last 17 games against a team with a winning record and 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600 while the over is 5-1 in their last 6 games overall. Saint Louis is 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall and 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 home games while the under is 7-1 in their last 8 games following a win.
I get the case to be made for a decent sized underdog in spots, but Evansville is not one of those teams I make the exception for. The Aces are one of the worst teams in the country, and they got destroyed left and right on the road last year, despite what we saw in their season opener. Saint Louis is one of my teams to watch this year and could be an Elite eight team if everyone stays healthy. Give me the Billikens in a rout.