Western Illinois vs South Dakota 1/24/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The South Dakota Coyotes and the Western Illinois Leathernecks meet Monday in college basketball action fro Western Hall. South Dakota enters this one at 11-7 so far. The Coyotes beat St. Thomas-MN in their last outing. As for Western Illinois, they’re sitting at 12-7 on the year and coming off a loss to South Dakota State. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

South Dakota posted a 7-7 start over their first 14 games, beating Air Force, Southern, Tennessee State, Presentation, Waldorf, Northern AZ and Bellarmine. The last four games have all been wins over North Dakota, Denver, Omaha and St. Thomas-MN. 

In the St. Thomas-MN game, the Coyotes were tied 43-43 at halftime. South Dakota took command from there on a 47-36 run in a 90-79 win. Leading scorer Mason Archambault posted 27 points with five rebounds and one assist. 

Over on the Western Illinois side, they got off to a pretty good 10-2 start this year with losses to only DePaul and Eastern Michigan. The Leathernecks have gone just 2-5 since then with losses to Omaha, Iowa, St. Thomas-MN, Oral Roberts and South Dakota State. 

Matched up against the Jackrabbits on Saturday, the Leathernecks were outscored 40-29 in the first half. Western Illinois hit a 53-46 deficit from there in a 93-75 loss. Tops in scoring was Trenton Massner with 24 points, three rebounds and three assists. 

The Leathernecks are 6-2 ATS in their last eight at home and 2-7 ATS in their last nine overall. The over is 6-2 in Western Illinois’ last eight overall. 

Meanwhile, the Coyotes are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games and 4-0 ATS in their last four overall. South Dakota is 5-1 ATS in their last six after a straight-up win. 

PICK: I’m probably going to try South Dakota here. The Coyotes are coming off a nice game versus St. Thomas-MN in their last outing, shooting a scorching 59.6 percent from the field with 32 rebounds and 12 team assists. South Dakota has been rolling on offense lately with 75 or more points in four straight games. 

As for Western Illinois, they’ve scored 73 or more in each of their last four outings so I like this one to be a high-scoring shootout. If South Dakota can find a good scoring rhythm early I think they’ll be fine on a cover. Should be a fun game to watch.