Murray State Racers vs Eastern Illinois Panthers Prediction, 1/7/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Murray State Racers vs Eastern Illinois Panthers

Date: Thursday, January 7, 2021

Location: Lantz Arena in Charleston, IL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Murray State (-3.5)

Lantz Arena is the site where and the Eastern Illinois Panthers (4-5) will take on the Murray State Racers (4-5) on Thursday. Murray State opens this game as 3.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 141.5.

Murray State comes into this game with a win-loss mark of 4-5 for the season. They average 81.6 points per game (45th in the nation) while hitting 53.7% from the field. The Racers are shooting 32.4% on 3-pointers (55 of 170) and 68.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, Murray State is grabbing 39.8 boards per contest and is sitting with 154 dimes on the year, which is 61st in college basketball in terms of passing. They turn it over 16.3 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 17.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis. On defense, the Racers are forcing 14.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.1 fouls. The Racers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 39.5% (219 of 555) and they surrender 31.2 boards per game as a group. They are 148th in college hoops in giving up assists with 100 surrendered on the campaign. They are relinquishing 29.5% on three-point shots and they are ranked 155th in D-1 in points per game allowed (68.6).

The Murray State Racers stepped onto the hardwood against the Morehead State Eagles and took a loss by a score of 61-56 in their last contest. Murray State walked away from the game having earned a 35.3% FG percentage (18 out of 51) and converted 5 out of their 20 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Racers converted 15 of 27 tries for a percentage of 55.6%. In reference to hauling in boards, they compiled 35 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 11 dimes for this game while having 5 steals and 6 blocks. Pertaining to defense, Murray State allowed the other team to go 35.3% from the field on 18 of 51 shooting. Morehead State earned 4 assists and had 5 steals in this game. Furthurmore, the Eagles grabbed 36 boards (9 offensive, 27 defensive) and had 6 rejections. Morehead State walked away from this one shooting 62.5% at the free throw line by burying 15 of their 24 shots. They made 2 of their 14 attempts from three-point range.

Tevin Brown is a guy who came through in this game. He scored 17 points on 6 out of 19 shooting. He played for 36 mins played and also totaled 5 boards. Brown went 31.6% from the floor and also totaled 3 dimes. An additional guy that was a major factor in this game for the Racers was Brion Whitley. He totaled 3 boards and totaled 2 dimes. He shot 37.5% from the floor in the game by connecting on 3-of-8 (9 points). Overall, Whitley played for 28 minutes.

Eastern Illinois has a record of 4-5 on the year. Eastern Illinois has totaled 656 pts on the campaign (72.9 per contest) and they snag 36.9 rebounds per game. The Panthers commit 18.1 fouls per contest while shooting 66.7% from the free throw line. When it comes to offensive execution, the Panthers are connecting on 43.0% from the floor, which ranks them 240th in the nation. They are assisting teammates 12.8 times per game (220th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 13.1 times per contest. The Panthers on defense are ranked 272nd in the nation in points given up per game with 74.6. They have surrendered 13.6 assists and 34.8 boards every game, which ranks them 221st and 159th in those defensive categories. The Eastern Illinois defense surrenders 39.9% on shots from 3-point land (79 of 198) and their opponents are converting on 69.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They are forcing their opponents into 13.7 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.1% from the floor (263rd in college hoops).

In their last game, the Eastern Illinois Panthers went home victorious with a score of 87-81 against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. The Panthers snagged 26 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 in the game. They rejected 3 shots while getting 9 steals in this game. The Golden Eagles committed 20 personal fouls in this game which got the Panthers to the charity stripe for a total of 25 shots. They were able to bury 16 of them for a rate of 64.0%. Pertaining to 3-pointers, Eastern Illinois knocked down 7 out of 14 tries (50.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Panthers ended up shooting 32 out of 55 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 58.2%. The Panthers allowed the Golden Eagles to convert 27 out of their 58 tries from the field which left them shooting 46.6% for the matchup. They finished 42.9% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 12 of 28 and ended up shooting 15 of 23 at the free throw line (65.2%). In the matter of how they cleaned up the glass, Eastern Illinois permitted Tennessee Tech to collect 23 in all (7 on the offensive side).

Josiah Wallace was important for the Panthers in this game. He converted 6 out of 12 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, which earned him 19 points. Wallace grabbed 4 boards in his 36 mins and earned 3 dimes for the contest. Another guy that ended up playing a role for Eastern Illinois was Marvin Johnson. He ended up finishing with 19 points in his 33 minutes played by way of 7 out of 14 shooting in the game. Johnson ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor as well as contributing 10 dimes and 6 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Murray State (-3.5)

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