Southern Illinois Salukis (3-2) vs Cal Baptist Lancers (3-2)
Game Info: Thursday, November 24, 2022 at 1:00 am (JSerra Pavilion)
Betting Odds: Southern Illinois Salukis -- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Cal Baptist Lancers and the Southern Illinois Salukis will face off at the SoCal Challenge in San Juan Wednesday night.
Cal Baptist is 3-2 after a loss to Minnesota Miss Monday night. The Lancers took the Golden Gophers to the brink, and nearly notched their second Power 5 win in a row, before falling in overtime on a last second shot from Dawson Garcia. Cal Baptist is scoring 63.8 points per game, while shooting 40.4% from the field, and 32.2% from deep.
Cal Baptist is powered by the backcourt duo of Taran Armstrong and Joe Quintana. Armstrong has stepped up with a bigger role this season, and he showed up big time against Minnesota, pouring in a game-high 24 points. Armstrong is posting a strong line of 16.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, and 4.4 apg. Quintana scored 17 points in the win over Washington, and he’s scoring 13.3 ppg.
Southern Illinois is 3-2 after a loss to UNLV in the first round last night. The Salukis squandered a halftime lead, and lost to the Rebels in an unders bettor’s dream, 56-49. Southern Illinois is scoring 62.8 points per game, while shooting 47.4% from the floor, and 32.2% from the three-point line.
Marcus Domask has been so reliable during his four-year stay at SIU. The 6’6 forward scored nearly half of the Salukis points in the loss to UNLV with a season-high 21 points, and he leads the team in scoring (16.4) and rebounding (7.3). Fellow senior guard Lance Jones brings over 90 games of experience to the lineup, and he’s second on the team at 12.4 ppg.
Cal Baptist is 3-2 against the spread this season, with a 2-3 over/under record. Southern Illinois is 3-1 ATS this year, with a 1-3 o/u record.
Two experienced teams will cross paths here in what should be a closely contested game. Cal Baptist looks a lot like the West Coast’s Bellarmine, while Southern Illinois has been one of the sneakiest mid majors since their early 2000’s run. This one has elements of a grind-it-out affair, with both teams playing at a slower pace, and the defense intensifying down the stretch. I could see overtime in this one, and I like the angle of a hard-nosed battle here. Take the under for this contest, and with the SoCal challenge residing less than an hour away from the Lancers campus, eye their spread or ML in hopes of some home cooking.