Eastern Illinois Panthers vs SIU Edwardsville Cougars Prediction, 3/6/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Illinois Panthers vs SIU Edwardsville Cougars

Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Location: Ford Center in Evansville, IN

TV: ESPN+

Ford Center is the site where the SIU Edwardsville Cougars (16-15) will take on the Eastern Illinois Panthers (14-17) on Wednesday.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers faced Western Illinois and went home with a loss by a final score of 70-66 in their last game. Regarding fouls, the Panthers ended up with 25 and Western Illinois accumulated 12 fouls. They made 4 out of their 14 shots from 3-point range. Western Illinois finished 59.3% from the free throw line by converting 16 of their 27 tries. On top of that, Western Illinois had 41 boards (12 offensive, 29 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Western Illinois distributed 10 assists and had 3 steals in this matchup. In relation to defending, Eastern Illinois allowed the other team to go 41.7% from the floor on 25 out of 60 shooting. They also dished out 11 assists in this contest as well as forcing 10 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 30 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Panthers made 8 of 12 tries for a rate of 66.7%. Eastern Illinois finished with a 40.0% FG percentage (24 out of 60) and knocked down 10 of their 17 shots from downtown.

Nakyel Shelton is a guy who came through for this contest. He shot 50.0% from the field and also distributed 2 dimes. He was on the court for 37 mins played and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 24 points on 8 of 16 shooting.

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Eastern Illinois enters this contest with a mark of 14-17 for the season. They lose possession via turnover 10.3 times per contest and as a group they are committing 17.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Eastern Illinois is grabbing 35.4 rebounds per contest and has 402 dimes this season, which has them ranked 160th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Panthers are shooting 32.3% on 3-pointers (175 of 541) and 73.2% from the charity stripe. They average 69.3 points per contest (295th in D-1) while hitting 42.3% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Panthers are forcing 14.2 turnovers per game and they draw 14.7 personal fouls. They relinquish 35.3% on shots from distance and they are 72nd in college basketball in points per game allowed (67.9). The Panthers defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 44.0% (732 of 1,665) and they concede 35.4 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are ranked 272nd in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 414 conceded for the campaign.

When they last played, the SIU Edwardsville Cougars took a loss by a score of 76-65 against Western Illinois. When it comes to attacking the glass, SIU Edwardsville permitted Western Illinois to grab 36 in total (5 offensive). They went 47.1% from three-point range by going 8 out of 17 and ended up shooting 18 of 31 at the free throw line (58.1%). The Cougars permitted Western Illinois to knock down 25 out of 50 tries from the field which had them at 50.0% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Cougars went 26 out of 76 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 34.2%. With respect to three-point shots, SIU Edwardsville buried 5 of their 24 attempts (20.8%). They were able to convert 8 of those for a percentage of 66.7%. Western Illinois committed 12 personal fouls for this game which got the Cougars to the free throw line for 12 tries. They also turned it over 6 times, while getting 7 steals for the matchup. The Cougars were able to collect 23 defensive boards and 16 offensive rebounds totaling 39 for this contest.

Damarco Minor was important for the Cougars for this game. He earned 20 points in his 32 mins on the court and had 2 dimes for the matchup. He made 7 out of 15 in this game for a rate of 46.7%, and had 11 rebounds.

SIU Edwardsville has a mark of 16-15 this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars are shooting 42.5% from the floor, which is ranked 289th in the nation. SIU Edwardsville has accounted for 2,229 points so far this season (71.9 per game) and they snag 35.5 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 11.6 times per game (304th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 10.5 times per game. The Cougars commit 16.8 fouls per game and they go 71.7% from the charity stripe.

The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 126th in D-1 in points given up per game with 70.3. They are forcing 12.4 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.6% from the floor (182nd in college basketball). The SIU Edwardsville defense concedes 36.7% on 3-point attempts (235 of 641) and their opposition makes 72.0% of their foul shots. They have conceded 12.8 assists and 34.9 total rebounds per game, ranking them 174th and 193rd in those defensive categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Eastern Illinois

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