Western Illinois vs SE Missouri State Prediction 2/20/25 College Basketball Picks

The Western Illinois Leathernecks and the Southeast Missouri State RedHawks meet Thursday in college basketball action from the Ellis T. Johnson Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Western Illinois vs. Southeast Missouri State Prediction.

Western Illinois Recap

The Western Illinois Leathernecks come into this game looking to build on their 72-67 win over Morehead State last time out to improve to 10-17 on the year. After this game, Western Illinois will head on the road to take on Little Rock.

Leathernecks Win Back-To-Back Games

Marko Maletic leads the Leathernecks in scoring with 17.1 PPG along with 3.6 RPG while Ryan Myers has 13.3 PPG with 2.5 RPG and Sean Smith has 10.4 PPG with 4.7 RPG and a team-high 3.8 APG and 1.5 SPG to lead the Leathernecks in assists and steals and to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Western Illinois up to this point in the year. Julius Rollins has 8.7 PPG with 4 RPG while Tay Knox has 4 PPG and a team-high 5.3 RPG to lead the Leathernecks on the glass up to this point in the year. As a team, Western Illinois is averaging 68 PPG on 43.5% shooting from the field, 37.4% from behind the arc, and 69.1% from the foul line so far this season.

Why the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks will win

• Southeast Missouri State has won each of its last seven games.
• Western Illinois has lost seven of its last eight road games.

Southeast Missouri State Recap

The Southeast Missouri State RedHawks come into this game looking to build on their 83-69 win over Tennessee Tech last time out to sit at 17-10 on the year. After this game, Southeast Missouri State will welcome Lindenwood to town.

RedHawks Win 7th In A Row

Teddy Washington Jr. leads the RedHawks in scoring and rebounding with 13.9 PPG along with 5.5 RPG and 2.5 APG along with 1.8 SPG while Rob Martin has 13.5 PPG with 2.4 RPG and a team-high 4.3 APG so far this season. Brendan Terry has 10.9 PPG with 4.1 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Southeast Missouri State so far this season while BJ Ward has 9 PPG with 2.4 RPG and 2.4 APG as well while Braxton Stacker also has 9.4 PPG with 2.9 RPG as well this season. As a team, Southeast Missouri State is averaging 74.6 PPG on 45.9% shooting from the field, 32.8% from behind the three-point line, and 72.6% from the foul line up to this point in the year.

Why the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks will win

• Southeast Missouri State has won each of its last seven games.
• Western Illinois has lost seven of its last eight road games.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Southeast Missouri State’s last 17 night games against Conference opponents at Show Me Center has produced a total of 140+ points.
• Each of Western Illinois’ last four games against Conference opponents has produced a total of 139+ points.

Western Illinois vs. Southeast Missouri State Prediction

I’m with Southeast Missouri State in this game. I can appreciate Western Illinois stringing a couple of feel-good wins together late in the season, but in the end, this is still a Leathernecks team that’s likely on the outside looking in as only the top-8 teams make the OVC tournament. Maybe this is their national championship moment against the top team in the conference, but I’d feel a lot better if this game were at WIU where the Leathernecks’ recent success has come. At home, Southeast Missouri State’s been really solid and I look for them to snag another comfortable home win here. Give me Southeast Missouri State at home in this one.