Who's Playing

SIU-Edwardsville @ Illinois State

Current Records: SIU-Edwardsville 7-3; Illinois State 4-6

What to Know

The Illinois State Redbirds' homestand continues as they prepare to take on the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars at 4 p.m. ET Dec. 10 at Horton Field House. The Redbirds should still be feeling good after a victory, while SIU-Edwardsville will be looking to regain their footing.

Illinois State didn't have too much breathing room in their game with the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Wednesday, but they still walked away with an 87-81 win. Illinois State's success was spearheaded by the efforts of guard Colton Sandage, who had 28 points, and forward Kendall Lewis, who posted a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds.

Meanwhile, SIU-Edwardsville entered their contest against the Bradley Braves on Tuesday without any home losses -- but there's a first time for everything. It was close but no cigar for SIU-Edwardsville as they fell 56-54 to Bradley. One thing holding the Cougars back was the mediocre play of guard Ray'Sean Taylor, who did not have his best game: he played for 31 minutes but put up just six points on 3-for-10 shooting and four turnovers.

Barring any buzzer beaters, the Redbirds are expected to win a tight contest Saturday. They hadn't treated bettors all too well in the past (they are 3-7), but they might be worth taking a chance on now after beating the spread three games in a row.

Illinois State is now 4-6 while SIU-Edwardsville sits at 7-3. Two stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: Illinois State is sixth worst in college basketball in takeaways, with only 10.6 on average. To make matters even worse for the Redbirds, SIU-Edwardsville comes into the matchup boasting the 32nd most takeaways per game in college basketball at 17.4.

How To Watch

  • When: Saturday at 4 p.m. ET
  • Where: Horton Field House -- Normal, Illinois
  • Follow: CBS Sports App

Odds

The Redbirds are a slight 2-point favorite against the Cougars, 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 2-point spread, and stayed right there.

Over/Under: -111

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Series History

This is the first time these teams have played each other within the last seven years.