UIC vs Southern Illinois Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 2/26/23

The Southern Illinois Salukis and the UIC Flames meet Sunday in college basketball action from UIC Pavilion. Southern Illinois is 21-9 so far this year. The Salukis beat Northern Iowa in their last game. As for UIC, they’re 12-18 on the season following a win versus Evansville. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Southern Illinois Salukis 

Southern Illinois managed a pretty solid 17-5 record over their first 22 games this year. Since then the Salukis are a sketchy 4-4 however, taking wins over Missouri State, UIC, Valparaiso and Northern Iowa during that time. 

On Wednesday versus Northern Iowa, the Salukis went into the second half with a 34-23 advantage. Southern Illinois hit a 52-40 run the rest of the way and won it 86-63. Lance Jones put up 28 points with four assists to lead the team. 

UIC Flames 

Over on the Flames’ side, they went a rough 9-13 over their first 22 outings this year. UIC has since managed a 3-5 run with losses to Bradley, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Belmont and Indiana State alongside wins over Evansville (twice) and Valparaiso. 

In the Valparaiso matchup on Wednesday, the Flames were up 40-32 at the break. UIC was outscored 44-42 from there but held on for the 82-76 victory. Jace Carter was the top team scorer on 22 points with eight rebounds. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m going to take a stab on UIC. The Salukis have been a mixed bag lately, but they’re 4-2 in their last six games with 66 or more points scored in each win. Southern Illinois barely eked out a 68-66 win the last time these teams met back on February 8 at SIU Arena, so the Flames should match up well. Speaking of UIC, they’ve hit a combined 156 points across their last two games and should put up a decent total here. Southern Illinois struggles in lower-scoring affairs, so if UIC can control the tempo here I think they’ve got a great cover shot.