Halftime Report
This game looks nothing like the tight 69-66 margin from Illinois State’s win over S. Illinois in their previous head-to-head back in February of 2024. Illinois State has a bit of a cushion as they currently lead S. Illinois 44-23.
Illinois State came into the match with some extra motivation after the loss they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
S. Illinois Salukis @ Illinois State Redbirds
Current Records: S. Illinois 5-9, Illinois State 9-5
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, January 5, 2025 at 4 p.m. ET
- Where: CEFCU Arena — Normal, Illinois
- TV: ESPN Plus
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $14.30
What to Know
Illinois State is 2-8 against S. Illinois since January of 2020 but they’ll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Sunday. Both will face off in a Missouri Valley battle at 4:00 p.m. ET at CEFCU Arena. Coming in fresh off a victory as the underdog, the Redbirds will stroll into this one as the favorite.
Last Thursday, Illinois State earned a 74-68 win over Murray State.
Illinois State’s success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Caden Boser led the charge by going 7 for 9 en route to 17 points. Boser had some trouble finding his footing against UIC on Sunday, so this was a step in the right direction. The team also got some help courtesy of Johnny Kinziger, who went 6 for 11 en route to 17 points.
Meanwhile, S. Illinois’ recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their third straight loss. The match between them and Evansville wasn’t a total blowout, but with S. Illinois falling 68-53 at home it was darn close to turning into one. The matchup marked the Salukis’ lowest-scoring contest so far this season.
S. Illinois’ defeat came about despite a quality game from Kennard Davis, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Davis a new career-high in offensive rebounds (five). Jarrett Hensley, on the other hand, was considerably less helpful: he went 0-5 from deep.
Illinois State has been performing well recently as they’ve won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season. As for S. Illinois, their loss dropped their record down to 5-9.
Keep an eye on the arc in Sunday’s match: Illinois State has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 10.4 threes per game. It’s a different story for S. Illinois, though, as they’ve been averaging only 6. Given Illinois State’s sizable advantage in that area, S. Illinois will need to find a way to close that gap.
Illinois State couldn’t quite finish off S. Illinois when the teams last played back in February of 2024 and fell 69-66. Will Illinois State have more luck at home instead of on the road?
Odds
Illinois State is a solid 6.5-point favorite against S. Illinois, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 6.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 142 points.
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Series History
S. Illinois has won 8 out of their last 10 games against Illinois State.
- Feb 10, 2024 – S. Illinois 69 vs. Illinois State 66
- Jan 06, 2024 – S. Illinois 71 vs. Illinois State 64
- Jan 29, 2023 – Illinois State 72 vs. S. Illinois 66
- Jan 14, 2023 – S. Illinois 69 vs. Illinois State 57
- Feb 23, 2022 – S. Illinois 90 vs. Illinois State 69
- Feb 05, 2022 – S. Illinois 75 vs. Illinois State 69
- Feb 14, 2021 – S. Illinois 59 vs. Illinois State 49
- Feb 13, 2021 – Illinois State 80 vs. S. Illinois 55
- Jan 25, 2020 – S. Illinois 58 vs. Illinois State 55
- Jan 04, 2020 – S. Illinois 67 vs. Illinois State 55
