Indiana State Sycamores vs Southern Illinois Salukis Prediction, 2/17/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Indiana State Sycamores vs Southern Illinois Salukis

Date: Saturday, February 17, 2024

Location: Banterra Center in Carbondale, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Southern Illinois Salukis (16-10) host the Indiana State Sycamores (22-4) at Banterra Center on Saturday.

The Indiana State Sycamores stepped onto the hardwood against Illinois State and went home with a loss by a final score of 80-67 in their last contest. Indiana State ended the game having earned a 36.4% field goal percentage (24 of 66) and made 8 out of their 38 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Sycamores buried 11 of their 12 shots for a rate of 91.7%. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they earned 32 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 11 dimes for the contest while forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. With respect to the defense, Indiana State allowed the other team to shoot 51.8% from the floor on 29 of 56 shooting. Illinois State doled out 8 assists and had 3 steals in this matchup. Furthermore, Illinois State snagged 37 rebounds (7 offensive, 30 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Illinois State finished 72.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 18 of their 25 attempts. They also made 4 out of their 16 attempts from 3-point range. When discussing fouls, the Sycamores ended up with 21 while Illinois State accounted for 14 fouls.

Julian Larry is one player who was a major factor in the matchup. He accumulated 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting. He played for 36 mins and grabbed 4 rebounds. He ended up shooting 41.2% from the floor and also dished out 4 dimes.

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Indiana State steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 22-4 on the year. They have an average of 84.9 pts per game (9th in the country) while hitting 50.2% from the field. The Sycamores are shooting 38.4% on 3-pointers (293 of 764) and 77.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Indiana State is pulling in 35.9 rebounds per contest and has racked up 445 assists this year, which ranks 8th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per game and as a team they commit 16.9 fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Sycamores are forcing their opponents into 11.8 turnovers per game and they draw 17.3 fouls. They are 81st in the country in giving up assists with 283 conceded this year. The Sycamores defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 43.4% (700 of 1,612) and they concede 32.6 boards per game as a unit. They give up 32.1% from 3-point land and they are 192nd in college hoops in PPG allowed (72.2).

For their last game, the Southern Illinois Salukis took a loss by a score of 82-68 against Belmont. The Salukis were able to pull down 23 defensive boards and 15 offensive rebounds totaling 38 for the game. They turned it over 11 times, while earning 4 steals for this game. Belmont earned 15 fouls in the game which took the Salukis to the charity stripe for 15 shots. They were able to bury 10 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. Pertaining to shooting from distance, Southern Illinois buried 8 of 32 tries (25.0%). Overall, the Salukis shot 25 out of 67 from the field which had them at 37.3%. The Salukis permitted Belmont to make 29 of 58 tries from the field which had them shooting 50.0% for this contest. They went 29.2% from behind the 3-point line via 7 of 24 and ended up going 17 of 22 at the free throw line (77.3%). Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, Southern Illinois allowed Belmont to get 35 overall (6 offensive).

Xavier Johnson pitched in for the Salukis in this contest. He converted 5 of 17 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 29.4%, and had 5 rebounds. He scored 17 points in his 40 minutes on the court and had 4 dimes in this contest.

Southern Illinois has a win-loss mark of 16-10 this season. When it comes to offense, the Salukis are hitting on 45.9% from the floor, which has them ranked 111th in college basketball. Southern Illinois has totaled 1,895 pts on the year (72.9 per game) and they snag 33.2 boards per game. They are getting an assist 14.2 times per contest (121st in the country) and they cough up possession 11.4 times per game. The Salukis are responsible for committing 18.1 personal fouls every game and they hit 76.1% from the charity stripe.

The Salukis defensively are ranked 60th in the nation in points given up per game with 67.0. They are forcing their opponents into 10.7 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.7% from the field (248th in D-1). The Southern Illinois defense concedes 29.3% on shots from beyond the arc (128 of 437) and their opposition makes 69.8% of their foul shots. They concede 10.7 dimes and 31.3 boards every game, which has them ranked 27th and 19th in those categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Southern Illinois

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