Southern Illinois vs Illinois State 2/23/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Illinois State Redbirds will travel to the Banterra Center to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis this Wednesday night in College Basketball action.

The Illinois State Redbirds lost their 4^th straight game and dropped to 11-18 on the season after being defeated by the Loyola Chicago Ramblers, 59-50, this past Monday. Illinois State struggled on the offensive end against Loyola Chicago and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 33-23 margin. Illinois State shot 36.0% from the field & 35.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Loyola Chicago to shoot 37.7% from the field & 23.8% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Redbirds was Antonio Reeves who had 15 points, 4 rebounds, & 3 steals.

On the season, Illinois State is averaging 74.8 ppg on 44.9% shooting from the field. The Redbirds are averaging 7.8 three-pointers per game on 36.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Illinois State has been led by Antonio Reeves (20.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.1 spg), Josiah Strong (11.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.0 spg0, Kendall Lewis (9.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.1 bpg), & Mark Freeman (8.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.0 spg).

Defensively, Illinois State is allowing their opponents to average 75.1 ppg on 43.9% shooting from the field. The Redbirds have a rebound margin of 0.2 and a turnover margin of -1.3.

The Southern Illinois Salukis won their 3^rd straight game and improved to 15-13 on the season after defeating the Indiana State Sycamores, 76-72, this past Saturday. Southern Illinois trailed by a 37-32 margin at halftime, however, the Salukis were outstanding offensively in the 2^nd half and was able to pull away after a Troy D’Amico three-pointer gave the Salukis a 70-66 lead with 1:08 left in regulation. Southern Illinois shot 45.0% from the field & 42.9% from beyond the arc while allowing Indiana State to shoot 52.9% from the field & 50.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Salukis was Lance Jones who had 24 points, 4 rebounds, & 1 assist.

On the season, Southern Illinois is averaging 63.7 ppg on 43.9% shooting from the field. The Salukis are averaging 7.6 three-pointers per game on 35.2% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Southern Illinois has been led by Marcus Domask (14.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.8 apg), Lance Jones (14.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.0 spg), Ben Coupet Jr. (10.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg), & Steven Verplancken Jr. (6.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg).

Defensively, Southern Illinois is holding their opponents to an average of 60.9 ppg on 43.9% shooting from the field. The Salukis have a rebound margin of -0.2 and a turnover margin of 0.4.

The Redbirds are 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games, however, are just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. Southern Illinois. The Salukis are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 games & 6-2 ATS in their last 8 home games.

Illinois State has struggled defensively this season, coming into this game ranked just 308^th in scoring defense & 225^th in FG%, and although the defense has played better as of late, the offense has had its issues lately as during their 4-game losing streak, the Redbirds are averaging just 60.3 ppg. Illinois State is just 1-10 on the road this season and between the fact that Southern Illinois is ranked 14^th in scoring defense and that the Salukis have already defeated Illinois State by a 75-69 margin on the road, I think the play here is to take Southern Illinois to cover this large home spread. Good Luck!