The James Madison Dukes and the Southern Illinois Salukis meet in college basketball action from the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya on Tuesday. Let’s take a look at our James Madison vs. Southern Illinois Prediction.
JMU Remains Unbeaten
The James Madison Dukes come into this one 4-0 on the year after a 76-73 win over Radford in their last matchup. Terrence Edwards is averaging 22 PPG along with 6 RPG and 3.3 APG while T.J. Bickerstaff has 16 PPG with a team-high 8.5 RPG to lead the Dukes on the glass. Julien Wooden and Michael Green III each have 12.8 PPG with Green III adding a team-high 4.5 APG to lead the Dukes in assists while rounding out the group of double-digit scorers for JMU so far this season. As a team, James Madison is averaging 93.8 PPG on 45.3% shooting from the field, 38.9% from three and 72.8% from the foul line this season.\
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Southern Illinois Improves To 3-0
The Southern Illinois Salukis come into this one looking to build on their 3-0 start to the year after a 71-55 win over Chicago State last time out. Xavier Johnson leads the Salukis in scoring and assists with 19.7 PPG and 5.7 APG while AJ Ferguson has 13 PPG with 4.3 RPG and Trent Brown has 11 PPG with 2.7 APG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for SIU so far this season. Jovan Stulic has 9.7 PPG while Scottie Ebube has 9.3 PPG with 5.3 RPG and Clarence Rupert has 9 PPG with a team-high 9.3 RPG to lead Southern Illinois on the glass so far this season. As a team, Southern Illinois is averaging 83.3 PPG on 49.7% shooting from the field, 37.1% from three and 71.2% from the foul line this season.
Chris’ Pick
I’m rolling with Southern Illinois here. I’ll give full credit to what JMU has accomplished to start the year, but this SIU defense matches up pretty well with the Dukes, as JMU likes to take the three, making them at a near 40% clip, but SIU is 11th-nationally in 3-point defense. The Salukis are efficient from 2-point range and the foul line and I think they can do enough to keep this one within the number.
