It will be a battle between Missouri Valley opponents when the Illinois State Redbirds (10-10) welcome the Northern Iowa Panthers (10-10) to Redbird Arena. The game begins at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 23 and will air on ES3.
The Redbirds edged Bradley 55-52 on Wednesday. Paris Lee was the team’s leading scorer with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting. The Panthers, meanwhile, are coming off a demoralizing 74-55 loss to Wichita State on Wednesday. Matt Bohannon played well for Northern Iowa, recording 14 points, three rebounds, and two steals.
The Redbirds may have trouble getting to the line in this one. They’re 298th in the nation in FTA rate (31.5), while Northern Iowa is among the nation’s least foul-prone squads (yielding a FTA rate of just 23.0, second in the country).
Illinois State is a slight one-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 127 points. The Redbirds enter the game with records of 10-10 Straight Up (SU) and 7-11 Against The Spread (ATS).
On the other side, the Panthers have records of 8-11 ATS and 10-10 SU. Northern Iowa has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 2-8. Offensively, the Panthers have really sputtered in the last 10 games. Their season average has fallen to 70.2 points per game after averaging only 63.5 during that stretch. Northern Iowa is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, making 8.0 shots from three-point range per game.
These conference foes will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Panthers were winners, bumping their SU record over their most recent meetings to 7-3. With a 6-3-1 record, the Panthers also have the advantage ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers, neither team was able to hold the advantage in all three of these categories over their past five meetings against one another.
Predictions: SU Winner – IllSt, ATS Winner – IllSt, O/U – Over
Notes
Illinois State is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Illinois State’s last 13 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Illinois State’s last 6 games at home.
Illinois State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Illinois State is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
Illinois State is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Northern Iowa.
Illinois State is 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Northern Iowa.
Northern Iowa is struggling at 2-5 SU in its conference, while Illinois State sits at 4-3 SU.
Northern Iowa averages 70.2 points per game, placing the team just 243rd in the nation. Illinois State ranks 83rd in points allowed, giving up 67.1 points per game.
The Illinois State Redbirds have a defensive rating of 98.6 (ranked 100th), while the Northern Iowa Panthers have an offensive rating of 108.2 (ranked 119th).
The Illinois State Redbirds average a field goal percentage of 40.1% this season. The Northern Iowa Panthers have a poor record of 4-9 when opponents have a FG% of 40.1% or greater.
The Illinois State Redbirds and the Northern Iowa Panthers both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Illinois State is 324th and 319th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Northern Iowa is 68th and 30th in these categories.
The Northern Iowa Panthers average 5.5 steals per game. When giving up 5 or more steals, the Illinois State Redbirds are an even 8-8 this season.
