Valparaiso vs Illinois State Prediction 2/1/25 College Basketball Picks

The Valparaiso Beacons and the Illinois State Redbirds meet Thursday in college basketball action from the CFSB Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Valparaiso vs. Illinois State prediction.

Valparaiso Recap

The Valparaiso Beacons come into this game looking to bounce back from a 79-75 loss at the hands of Southern Illinois in their last matchup to drop to 10-12 on the year. After this game, Valparaiso will head on the road again for a game against Indiana State.

Beacons Lose 6th In A Row

Cooper Schwieger leads the Beacons in scoring and rebounding with 14.3 PPG and 7.2 RPG while Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro has 11.4 PPG with 2 APG. Tyler Schmidt has 12.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG and All Wright has 11.4 PPG and 2.6 APG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Valparaiso so far this season. Darius DeAveiro has a team-high 2.6 APG to lead the Beacons in assists while Devon Ellis has 6.4 PPG with 3 RPG and Kaspar Sapp also has 6.8 RPG as well this season. As a team, Valparaiso is averaging 76.9 PPG on 43.2% shooting from the field, 33.1% from three, and 78% from the foul line this season.

Why the Valparaiso Beacons will win

• Valparaiso has won 12 of its last 13 games against Illinois State.

Illinois State Recap

The Illinois State Redbirds come into this game looking to build on an 81-78 win over Belmont last time out to improve to 13-9 so far this season. After this game, Illinois State will head on the road for a game against UIC.

Redbirds Win 3 Of Their Last 4

Johnny Kinziger leads the Redbirds in scoring with 15 PPG along with 3.3 RPG and 3.3 APG while Chase Walker added 14.7 PPG with 6 RPG to lead the Redbirds on the glass as the only other double-digit scorer for Illinois State so far this season. Dalton Banks also has added 9.5 PPG with 4 RPG and a team-high 3.7 APG to lead the Redbirds in assists while Landon Wolf’s added 7.9 PPG with 3.7 RPG. Ty Pence also has 7.5 PPG with 3.9 RPG as well on the year. As a team, Illinois State is averaging 76.4 PPG on 48.2% shooting from the field, 38.9% from three, and 75.2% from the foul line this season.

Why the Illinois State Redbirds will win

• Illinois State has won each of its last 11 games at CEFCU Arena following a home win.
• Valparaiso has lost each of its last six games.

Total Points Facts

• Nine of Valparaiso’s last 10 day games against the Missouri Valley Conference have produced a total of 146+ points.
• Each of Illinois State’s last four day games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 142 or fewer points.

Valparaiso vs. Illinois State Prediction

I’m on Illinois State here. The Beacons have had a strong history of having Illinois State’s number in recent years, but I just don’t see the Beacons in their current form hanging with Illinois State here. The lack of offense is a major concern for Valpo, who just is not covering numbers like they were earlier in the year, and Illinois State has been much more sound on that end of the floor, sitting 2nd in the conference in 3-point and 2-point shooting. I think this is a game where Illinois State pulls away in the second half for a win and cover here so give me Illinois State laying the points.