The Evansville Aces (21-7) will close out the regular season on their home court when they square off against the Southern Illinois Salukis (21-7) at the Ford Center. Action starts at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 20 and will air on ES3.
The Aces come into this game on a high note after defeating Drake 80-74 on Wednesday. With 21 points and 13 rebounds, Egidijus Mockevicius recorded his 23rd double-double of the season. The Salukis are coming off a 71-59 win against Bradley on Wednesday. Sean O’Brien led the game in scoring by recording 24 points on 11-for-13 shooting.
The physical Evansville offense might be getting to the charity stripe a lot in this one. It ranks third in the nation at getting to the line (FTA rate of 49.0), while Southern Illinois is among the nation’s most foul-prone teams (giving up a 327th-ranked FTA rate of 44.8).
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Aces winning the first matchup 85-78. Mislav Brzoja had a stellar game with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and four three-pointers.
The Aces come into this game 21-7 Straight Up (SU) and 10-12-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Evansville has consistently been near the top of the nation in terms of field goal percentage, currently ranking fourth in the nation with a FG% of .502. Evansville is one of the most disciplined teams in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.38. Teams usually don’t get many offensive rebounds against the Aces, who are one of the top defensive rebounding teams in the country with an average of 27.7 per game.
Across the court, the Salukis head into the game with records of 14-12 ATS and 21-7 SU. Most recently, Southern Illinois is a meager 3-7 ATS over the last 10 games.
Following the Aces’ latest win over Southern Illinois, their SU record rises to 7-3 over Southern Illinois in their most recent meetings. Additionally, Evansville holds the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3. Neither team held the edge in field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers in a single game during this span.
Predictions: SU Winner – SIU, ATS Winner – SIU
Notes
“Evansville is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games “.
“Evansville is 18-6 SU in its last 24 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 7 of Evansville’s last 9 games “.
“Evansville is 16-2 SU in its last 18 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Evansville’s last 5 games at home”.
“Evansville is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Southern Illinois”.
“Evansville is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Southern Illinois”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Evansville’s last 5 games when playing Southern Illinois”.
“Evansville is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Southern Illinois”.
“Evansville is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Southern Illinois”.
Evansville averages 76.3 points per game (ranked 89th). Southern Illinois, on the other hand, allows 69.2 points per game (ranked 102nd).
Evansville averages 79.5 points per home game (ranked 92nd). Southern Illinois allows 68.0 points per away game (ranked 34th).
The Evansville Aces rank 89th for their offensive rating of 109.6. The Southern Illinois Salukis have a defensive rating of 99.0 (ranked 80th).
The Evansville Aces average 69.6 possessions and 1.096 points per possession in games this season. The Southern Illinois Salukis average fewer possessions with 69.5, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.079.
The Evansville Aces have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking 25th in the country with an eFG% of 54.6%. When their opponents have a similar or higher eFG%, the Southern Illinois Salukis are 7-5.
Ranked sixth in the nation, Evansville has an average of 18.2 assists per game. Southern Illinois ranks lower at 301st with 11.6.
Evansville, the 75th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.4 per game. Southern Illinois does worse, ranked 324th with 2.0.
On average, Evansville makes 5.2 steals per game. Southern Illinois has a stellar 13-4 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
