The Illinois State Redbirds (17-12) and the Southern Illinois Salukis (21-8) close out the regular season when they face off at Redbird Arena. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 24 and will air on ES3.
The Redbirds were beaten by Northern Iowa 75-66 on Saturday. Paris Lee finished with 14 points to lead the team. The Salukis are coming off an 83-71 loss to Evansville on Saturday. Anthony Beane had a team-high 22 points.
Beane has been on a tear over the last five games for the Salukis, averaging 21.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.6 three-pointers.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Salukis won the first game 81-78. MiKyle McIntosh was a top player in the game with 25 points, two rebounds, one assist, one steal, three blocks, and five three-pointers.
Notes
The Southern Illinois Salukis have a defensive rating of 99.6 (ranked 87th), while the Illinois State Redbirds have an offensive rating of 100.3 (ranked 277th).
Southern Illinois beats Illinois State in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Salukis average 69.6 possessions and 1.076 points per possession, while the Redbirds average 67.4 possessions with 1.003 points per possession.
Illinois State has an average effective field goal percentage of 48.0%. Southern Illinois is a solid 11-6 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The Illinois State Redbirds average 21.0 three point attempts per game and are 10-8 when attempting at least 20 in a game. The Southern Illinois Salukis average 19.0 attempts and have a winning record (9-4) when attempting 20 or more.
On average, Southern Illinois forces a turnover rate of 22.0%, ranked 23rd in the nation. When Illinois State turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 5-2 record.
