Drake Bulldogs vs Southern Illinois Salukis Prediction, 1/13/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Drake Bulldogs vs Southern Illinois Salukis

Date: Saturday, January 13, 2024

Location: Banterra Center in Carbondale, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Southern Illinois Salukis (12-4) host the Drake Bulldogs (13-3) at Banterra Center on Saturday.

The Drake Bulldogs faced off with Indiana State and notched a win by a score of 89-78 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Bulldogs ended up finishing with 17 while Indiana State finished the game with 19 personal fouls. They made 11 of 30 tries from downtown. Indiana State walked away from this one shooting 92.0% at the charity stripe by converting 23 of their 25 shots. Additionally, Indiana State had 29 boards (3 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Indiana State recorded 13 assists and had 2 steals in this game. Pertaining to the defense, Drake allowed 43.1% from the field on 22 of 51 shooting. They also dished out 15 dimes in this game as well as creating 14 turnovers and earning 7 steals. With respect to getting rebounds, they collected a total of 27 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Bulldogs buried 19 of their 21 tries for a rate of 90.5%. Drake walked away from the contest with a 46.9% FG percentage (30 of 64) and buried 10 of their 25 three-point attempts.

Tucker DeVries is someone who was a factor in this game. He finished 45.5% from the floor and dished out 4 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 38 mins and totaled 6 boards. He ended up scoring 29 points on 10 of 22 shooting.

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Drake heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 13-3 so far this year. They are averaging 79.1 pts per contest (77th in the country) while hitting 47.5% from the field. The Bulldogs are shooting 33.8% on three-point attempts (134 of 396) and 77.2% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Drake is pulling in 33.6 boards per game and has accounted for 255 assists for the year, which has them ranked 44th in the country in terms of passing. They turn it over 9.9 times per contest and as a team they commit 16.4 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Bulldogs are able to force 14.2 turnovers per game while drawing 16.7 fouls. They give up 34.6% on shots from downtown while they are 128th in the nation in PPG allowed (69.1). The Bulldogs defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 45.0% (396 of 880) and they surrender 32.1 boards per game as a group. They rank 37th in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 161 relinquished this season.

For their last game, the Southern Illinois Salukis went home victorious with a score of 77-68 when they played Valparaiso. In regard to cleaning the glass, Southern Illinois allowed Valparaiso to collect 26 overall (6 on the offensive side). They went 30.8% from distance by shooting 4 of 13 and finished the game at 14 of 19 from the free throw line (73.7%). The Salukis allowed Valparaiso to convert 25 of their 49 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 51.0% in this game. Overall, the Salukis finished 26 out of 51 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.0%. With regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Southern Illinois knocked down 8 of their 15 tries (53.3%). They were able to make 17 of the free throws for a clip of 68.0%. Valparaiso was called for 20 personal fouls in this contest which took the Salukis to the charity stripe for 25 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while earning 7 steals for the game. The Salukis were able to snag 21 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 31 for the matchup.

Xavier Johnson ended up being a major contributor for the Salukis in this contest. He accumulated 22 points in his 27 mins on the court and had 7 dimes in the matchup. He made 5 out of 13 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 38.5%, and earned 3 rebounds.

Southern Illinois has a win-loss mark of 12-4 on the year. The Salukis commit 17.6 fouls every game and they go 75.5% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.2 times per contest (93rd in D-1) and they turn it over 10.9 times per contest. Southern Illinois has accounted for 1,202 pts so far this year (75.1 per contest) and they average 33.0 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Salukis are shooting 47.7% from the field, which is ranked 48th in Division 1.

The Southern Illinois defense allows 26.4% from downtown (75 of 284) and their opposition knocks down 68.4% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 10.6 dimes and 32.3 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 35th and 62nd in the nation. The Salukis are ranked 30th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 63.8. They are able to force 11.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 41.8% from the floor (116th in the country).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Southern Illinois

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