The Missouri State Bears (10-13) will try to slow down the Missouri Valley’s top scoring team when they take on the Evansville Aces (18-6) at the Ford Center. The game starts at 12:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 6 and will air on ES3.
The Aces lost a tough one against Northern Iowa 57-54 on Wednesday. Egidijus Mockevicius put in a solid effort despite the loss for Evansville, recording 14 points and 13 rebounds to earn his 19th double-double of the season. The Bears are coming off a 77-71 win over Bradley on Tuesday. Chris Kendrix led the game in scoring with 21 points on 4-for-8 shooting.
The inefficient offense of the Bears (308th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 97.5) will look to break through against the top-notch defense of the Aces (35th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 95.5). The matchup on that end of the court seems to benefit Evansville.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Aces won the first game 76-59. Mockevicius put up 21 points and 21 rebounds.
The Aces are attempting to build on their records of 18-6 Straight Up (SU) and 9-9-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Evansville has been struggling of late. In the last 10 games, Evansville has only averaged 66.1 points per game compared to the 76.6 they’ve averaged on the season. The Aces are a dangerously accurate shooting team with a .511 field-goal percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I. Evansville has the sixth-most assists in Division I, averaging 18.6 per game. An area where the Aces are particularly strong is defensive rebounding where they average 28.2 per game, 29th in Division I.
Across the court, the Bears head into the game with records of 10-11-1 ATS and 10-13 SU. The last 10 games have really brought out the best of the Bears on the defensive end. They’ve allowed 64.2 points per game during that span, which is lower than their season average of 71.0.
Evansville beat Missouri State in their most recent meeting this season, bringing its SU record to 7-3 over Missouri State in their most recent games. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Evansville and Missouri State each held the edge in all three of these categories once in the last five meetings.
Predictions: SU Winner – Evan, ATS Winner – Evan
Notes
“Evansville is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“Evansville is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Evansville’s last 5 games “.
“Evansville is 15-1 SU in its last 16 games at home”.
“Evansville is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Missouri State”.
“Evansville is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Missouri State”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Evansville’s last 5 games when playing Missouri State”.
“Evansville is 5-10 ATS in its last 15 games when playing at home against Missouri State”.
“Evansville is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Missouri State”.
“The total has gone OVER in 7 of Evansville’s last 9 games when playing at home against Missouri State”.
Evansville averages 76.6 points per game (ranked 83rd). Missouri State, on the other hand, allows 71.0 points per game (ranked 135th).
Evansville averages 80.8 points per home game (ranked 70th). Missouri State allows 67.7 points per away game (ranked 31st).
Ranked 86th, the Evansville Aces have an offensive rating of 109.7. The Missouri State Bears rank 172nd with a defensive rating of just 103.0.
The Evansville Aces average 69.8 possessions and 1.097 points per possession in games this season. The Missouri State Bears average fewer possessions with 69.0, as well as fewer points per possession with .975.
The Evansville Aces have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking 19th in the country with an eFG% of 55.6%. When their opponents record a similar or higher eFG%, the Missouri State Bears are winless with a 0-5 record.
Ranked sixth in the nation, Evansville has an average of 18.6 assists per game. Missouri State ranks lower at 270th with 12.0.
Evansville, the 88th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.3 per game. Missouri State does worse, ranked 150th with 3.6.
Missouri State makes an average of 6.7 steals per game. Evansville has an outstanding 11-3 record when it allows at least 6 steals.
