Tennessee Tech vs Eastern Illinois 1/5/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Eastern Illinois Panthers and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles meet Thursday in college basketball action from Eblen Center. Eastern Illinois is 6-9 overall this year. The Panthers beat Southern Indiana in their last game. As for Tennessee Tech, they’re 4-11 so far following a loss to Lindenwood. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Eastern Illinois managed to go 2-8 over their first 10 games this season, beating only SMWC and Blackburn. Since then the Panthers are 4-1 with wins over IUPUI, Iowa, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana. 

Matched up against the Screaming Eagles on Saturday, Eastern Illinois posted a 44-33 advantage by the break. The Panthers cruised the rest of the way in a 91-80 win. Tops in scoring was Dan Luers with 20 points and six rebounds. 

Over on the Tennessee Tech side, they were sitting at 3-7 after 10 games with wins over Tennessee Wesleyan, Truett-McConnell and East Tennessee State. The Eagles are 1-4 since then with a win over only Kentucky Christian.

In the matchup versus Lindenwood on Saturday, the Eagles took a 45-34 deficit into the second half. Tennessee Tech didn’t get any closer in an 82-64 loss. Jayvis Harvey was the leading team scorer on 18 points with four rebounds. 

PICK: I’m going to stay with Eastern Illinois. Granted, there’s not a lot to get excited about in this matchup. It should at least be somewhat competitive though. The Panthers have picked up their game during this four-game win streak, and they’ve hit 70 or more points in four of their last five outings. As for Tennessee Tech, they’ve got just 115 combined points in their last pair and probably won’t put up a huge number here either. Should be EIU’s cover (and maybe win) to take.