It will be a battle of the last two undefeated teams in the Missouri Valley Conference when the Illinois State Redbirds host the Wichita State Shockers this weekend. However, whereas Wichita State comes into this game with some name wins and a lot of preseason hype, Illinois State is more of a mystery. The Redbirds do have a win against New Mexico, but losses against Tulsa, San Francisco, and Murray State. The winner of this one will take sole possession of first place in the MVC.
This war on the floor will go down on Saturday, January 14, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at the Redbird Arena. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Wichita State has alternated wins and losses over its last five games against the number, while blowing out virtually all of their conference competition. The Shockers have been unstoppable on offense recently and that has led to a plethora of overs. Eight Wichita State games in a row have finished over the total and this side has scored at least 80 in each of its conference games.
Illinois State is the opposite of Wichita State in that the Redbirds are getting the job done with defense. They have held five of their last six opponents under 60 points and that has meant plenty of unders. The under is 6-3-1 over their last 10 games and the Redbirds are also 8-2 ATS in that stretch.
Matchup to Watch
Strength against strength will come when Wichita State is in possession of the ball. The Shockers have one of the more diverse offenses in the nation as this is a deep team that can beat you in a variety of ways. Coach Gregg Marshall makes constant use of substitutions in order to get fresh legs onto the court and has 10 players that are each averaging at least 13 minutes and 5 points a game. Only 1 of the 10 is hitting less than 40 percent of his shots on the season and the rotations are helping this team score 83.4 PPG.
Illinois State’s defense has been one of the better ones in the nation that keeping opponents off the scoreboard and is allowing 63 PPG through 16 games. It is the second-best defense that Dan Muller has had since coming to Normal, Illinois, and will hopefully be the catalyst to break a 20-year NCAA Tournament drought. Opponents are sinking just 37.7 percent of their field goal attempts against the Redbirds, making the shooting defense the 6th best in the country.
Key Stat
Unsurprisingly, due to the full use of its bench, Wichita State has been among the best rebounding and defensive teams around. No one on the Shockers is averaging more than 24 minutes a game and that means no excuses about being too tired to play in-your-face defense or boxing out after a missed shot.
With so many players giving their all each time they get to touch the court, this team ranks in the Top-12 in both rebounds per game and shooting defense. The Shockers are pulling down 41.1 RPG and limiting opponents to 38.2 percent from the floor and pairing those with an efficient offense makes this team very difficult to defeat.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
This looks to be Wichita State’s toughest test yet in conference. Illinois State hasn’t been just squeaking by teams, with only one of its wins coming by less than 6 points in MVC action, and looks to have turned the corner after a rough start to the season. However, even though the Shockers are on the road, they should be favored and cover for a reason. This team is the cream of the crop in the MVC and the buzz around the Shockers being one of the best mid-majors is legit.
College Basketball Odds: Wichita State 78, Illinois State 67
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