The Saint Louis Billikens and the Wichita State Shockers meet Sunday in college basketball action from HTC Center. Saint Louis comes into this one at 4-1 so far. The Billikens took their first loss versus Vermont on Friday. As for Wichita State, they’re sitting at 4-1 as well following a loss to Liberty in their last outing. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Saint Louis Billikens 

The Billikens didn’t have too many issues in their first four games of the year, winning each by nine or more points before a 10-point loss to Vermont on Friday. Saint Louis has averaged 80.8 points per game in those five outings, giving up 69.4 points on the other side. The Billikens have been pretty good on the boards as well with 36.0 rebounds per game on average. 

In their Friday matchup versus Vermont, the Billikens were drilled 47-32 in the first half. Saint Louis made a stronger effort in the second but fell short in a 78-68 defeat. Gibson Jimerson posted 18 points with four assists to lead the way. Terrence Hargrove managed 15 points with five boards, and Tim Dalger put up 10 points with six rebounds. 

Wichita State Shockers 

Over on the Wichita State side, they came out of the gate strong this year as well, winning four straight before falling to Liberty on Friday. The Shockers are averaging 78.8 points per game across their 4-1 run, and giving up 69.0 points on defense. Wichita State has out-rebounded opponents 45.6 RPG to 37.4 RPG so far. 

The Shockers didn’t play a great game versus Liberty on Friday despite only being down by three points at the break. Wichita State gave up 44 points in the second half on the way to a loss 83-66. Xavier Bell was the team’s leading scorer on 24 points and nine rebounds, while Colby Rogers put up 16 points. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll stick with the Shockers. This should be a pretty fun matchup regardless, though. Wichita State had some troubles with a good Liberty team in their last outing, shooting an abysmal 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range with 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) from the line. It was the first time all year the Shockers had scored fewer than 71 points. 

As for Saint Louis, they allowed Vermont to shoot 55.8 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from 3-point range in their latest loss, also getting out-rebounded 33-29. The Billikens should match up pretty well with Wichita State, and I expect both teams to score well. This one’s looking like something of a shootout, and I like the Shockers to edge through the cover.