The Missouri Valley’s top team will be at home when the Southern Illinois Salukis (14-3) welcome the Illinois State Redbirds (9-8) to SIU Arena. Action starts at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and can be seen on ES3.
The Salukis are hoping for a better outcome after their 83-58 loss to Wichita State on Saturday. Bola Olaniyan had a good outing, putting up 11 points, eight rebounds, and three steals for Southern Illinois. The Redbirds, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 77-65 loss against Indiana State on Saturday. Paris Lee stood out for Illinois State, registering 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Southern Illinois is a five-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 139 points. The Salukis come into this game 14-3 Straight Up (SU) and 9-6 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have had success covering the spread (7-3). Southern Illinois has consistently been near the top of the nation in terms of field goal percentage, currently ranking 41st in the nation with a FG% of .475.
Over on the other bench, the Redbirds head into the game with records of 6-9 ATS and 9-8 SU. One advantage for the Redbirds could be Southern Illinois’s high fouls per game average of 22.6.
These conference foes meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Illinois State won the last game in the matchup, moving its SU record against Southern Illinois to 6-4 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. The Redbirds also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. Illinois State held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice in the last five matchups. On the other side of the court, Southern Illinois never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – SIU, ATS Winner – SIU, O/U – Over
Notes
Southern Illinois is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Southern Illinois’s last 6 games.
Southern Illinois is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home.
Southern Illinois is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Illinois State.
Southern Illinois is 3-8-1 ATS in its last 12 games when playing at home against Illinois State.
Both Southern Illinois and Illinois State come into the game with a record of 3-1 SU against conference foes.
Southern Illinois scores just 74.8 points per home game (ranked 226th). Illinois State ranks 85th in points allowed on the road, giving up 70.7 points.
The Southern Illinois Salukis average 70.7 possessions and 1.081 points per possession in games this season. The Illinois State Redbirds average fewer possessions with 68.3, as well as fewer points per possession with .960.
Illinois State has an average effective field goal percentage of 46.3%. Southern Illinois is a formidable 8-2 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Southern Illinois attempts an average of 18.0 three pointers per game and Illinois State attempts 20.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Southern Illinois Salukis have an outstanding 6-1 record while the Illinois State Redbirds have a 4-5 record.
On average, Southern Illinois forces a turnover rate of 23.1%, ranked 22nd in the nation. When Illinois State turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 2-1 record.
