How to watch Illinois State Redbirds vs. Southern Illinois Salukis: NCAA Basketball live stream info, TV channel, start time, game odds

How to watch Illinois State vs. Southern Illinois basketball game

By Scout Staff

Jan 6, 2024 at 9:01 am ET • 2 min read

Who's Playing

Southern Illinois Salukis @ Illinois State Redbirds

Current Records: Southern Illinois 10-4, Illinois State 8-6

How To Watch

When: Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: CEFCU Arena -- Normal, Illinois
Follow: CBS Sports App
Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
Ticket Cost: $16.50

What to Know

Southern Illinois has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. The Southern Illinois Salukis and the Illinois State Redbirds will face off in a Missouri Valley battle at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at CEFCU Arena. Southern Illinois is the slight favorite, but fans should be in for an exciting game likely to go down to the wire.

Last Tuesday, the Salukis earned a 73-63 win over the Bruins.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Southern Illinois to victory, but perhaps none more so than Xavier Johnson, who scored 18 points along with eight assists and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Scottie Ebube, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds.

Meanwhile, things could have been worse for the Redbirds, but they could have been a whole lot better as they took a 88-71 loss to the Bulldogs on Tuesday. Illinois State has not had much luck with Drake recently, as the team's come up short the last six times they've met.

Illinois State struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only five offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.

The Salukis pushed their record up to 10-4 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home. As for the Redbirds, their loss dropped their record down to 8-6.

Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday's matchup: Southern Illinois have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 37.6% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Illinois State, though, as they've only made 29% of their threes per game this season. Given Southern Illinois' sizeable advantage in that area, Illinois State will need to find a way to close that gap.

Southern Illinois came up short against Illinois State in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, falling 72-66. Can Southern Illinois avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.