Evansville vs Illinois State Prediction – College Basketball Picks 3/7/24

The Evansville Purple Aces and Illinois State Redbirds face off on Thursday in a college basketball showdown at the Enterprise Center. Illinois State needs their offense to perform, while Evansville needs the defense to be better. Let’s take a look at who’s going to come out on top. 

Can Illinois State Score Enough?

Illinois State at times has had issues with their defense and the last game was a perfect example. Illinois State faced off against Valparaiso on Sunday, and the offense scored 72 points, but the defense gave up 75 points. Kendell Lewis had a strong game putting up 17 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. Illinois State is averaging 66.9 points while their defense is giving up 67.9 points per game. Myles Foster has been the top player averaging 12.2 points while shooting 43.3 percent from the field. 

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Evansville Defense Needs To Play Better

Evansville has had some issues with the defense heading into this game and that is going to need to improve quickly. In the last game against Belmont, Evansville struggled with the defense and they ended up losing 83-66. When they faced off against Illinois State last time the offense scored 79 points, but the defense gave up 86 points.  Evansville on the season is averaging 72.4 points while their defense is giving up 74.1 points per game. Yacine Toumi is averaging 10.8 points while shooting 54.4 percent from the field. 

Evansville vs Illinois State Betting Prediction

The last time these two teams faced off Evansville gave up 86 points and I expect their defense is going to struggle again in this game. Illinois State is averaging only 66.9 points per game but they are going to have no issue running up the score here. Evansville is going to struggle to keep up, and it’s going to be Illinois State is going to get the job done. Back Illinois State against the spread. 

Shane Mickle's Pick: Illinois State -3.5