Valparaiso Beacons vs Southern Illinois Salukis Prediction, 2/22/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Valparaiso Beacons vs Southern Illinois Salukis

Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025

Location: Banterra Center in Chicago, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Valparaiso Beacons (12-16) are en route to Banterra Center on Saturday where they will attempt to defeat the Southern Illinois Salukis (12-16).

The Valparaiso Beacons faced off with Missouri State and walked away with a win by a score of 66-64 in their last game. Valparaiso wrapped up the game with a 40.4% field goal percentage (19 of 47) and knocked down 4 of their 19 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Beacons made 24 of 31 tries for a rate of 77.4%. In relation to rebounding, they collected 22 with 1 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 8 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and earning 3 steals. Concerning the defense, Valparaiso allowed the other team to go 41.0% from the field on 25 out of 61 shooting. Missouri State recorded 12 dimes and had 3 steals for the contest. Moreover, Missouri State collected 39 rebounds (13 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Missouri State finished the game shooting 64.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 9 of their 14 shots. They also made 5 of their 23 tries from beyond the perimeter. When talking about personal fouls, the Beacons ended up walking away with 16 and Missouri State totaled 25 personal fouls.

All Wright is one guy who played a role for this game. He went 40.0% from the floor and also totaled 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 34 minutes played and also totaled 4 rebounds. He ended up scoring 24 points on 6 of 15 shooting.

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Valparaiso enters this contest with a win-loss mark of 12-16 for the season. They are averaging 75.8 points per game (130th in D-1) while shooting 43.1% from the field. The Beacons are connecting on 32.8% on shots from 3-point land (210 of 640) and 79.1% from the free throw line. As a unit, Valparaiso is grabbing 34.6 boards per contest and has earned 326 dimes this year, which ranks 276th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 10.1 times per game and as a squad they are committing 16.8 fouls per game.

On defense, the Beacons are forcing 11.9 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.1 fouls. They are ranked 262nd in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 373 surrendered so far this year. The Beacons defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 46.4% (747 of 1,610) and they surrender 35.0 boards per game as a team. They surrender 34.1% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 273rd in the country in PPG allowed (74.9).

The last time they took the court, the Southern Illinois Salukis took a defeat with a final score of 62-60 when they faced Murray State. The Salukis pulled down 27 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 35 in the game. They also gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while getting 3 steals in this matchup. Murray State was called for 15 personal fouls for this contest which got the Salukis to the charity stripe for a total of 17 tries. They were able to make 11 of those for a clip of 64.7%. With regard to 3-point shots, Southern Illinois made 1 of 12 tries (8.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Salukis walked away from this one shooting 24 for 52 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 46.2%. The Salukis allowed Murray State to knock down 17 out of their 55 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 30.9% in this game. They finished the game shooting 21.7% from behind the 3-point line by hitting 5 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 23 out of 25 from the free throw line (92.0%). With respect to cleaning up the glass, Southern Illinois allowed Murray State to get 30 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

Kennard Davis was important for the Salukis in this matchup. He converted 11 out of 19 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 57.9%, and had 10 rebounds. He earned 26 points in his 40 mins on the court and accumulated 1 assist for the game.

Southern Illinois has a mark of 12-16 on the campaign. The Salukis commit 16.9 fouls per contest and they connect on 68.6% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 14.2 times per game (139th in the country) and they are turning it over 12.9 times per contest. Southern Illinois has 2,022 points for the year (72.2 per contest) and they average 35.7 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Salukis are connecting on 45.8% from the floor, which is 124th in the country.

The Salukis are ranked 224th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 73.1. They are able to force 11.2 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 44.1% from the floor (206th in D-1). The Southern Illinois defense allows 35.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (225 of 634) and their opponents are making 71.7% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 13.3 dimes and 33.1 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 202nd and 102nd in college.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Valparaiso

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