Eastern Illinois vs Lindenwood Prediction 2/1/25 College Basketball Picks

The Eastern Illinois Panthers and the Lindenwood Lions meet Saturday in college basketball action from Hyland Arena. Here’s an Eastern Illinois vs Lindenwood prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Eastern Illinois vs Lindenwood pick. We will examine: 

The Eastern Illinois Panthers’ recent form and player performance

The Lindenwood Lions’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Eastern Illinois Panthers

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Lindenwood Lions

Recent betting trends in games played between Eastern Illinois and Lindenwood

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Eastern Illinois vs Lindenwood game

Eastern Illinois Panthers Betting Preview

The Panthers have had issues stringing together wins this year so far, and it’s resulted in a pretty ugly record. Eastern Illinois went 3-8 over their first 11 outings, falling versus Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, DePaul, Valparaiso, Butler, Eastern Kentucky, and Southeast Missouri State in that time. EIU came back with wins over Blackburn and Lindenwood, then took losses to Western Illinois, SIU Edwardsville, Tennessee Tech, TN-Martin, Tennessee State, Morehead State, and Southern Indiana. The Panthers stopped the bleeding with a tight win over Little Rock on January 27, giving them a 6-15 overall record through the first 21 games this year. 

In their Thursday game versus Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois posted a nice 32-19 advantage in the first half. The Panthers kept the pace well from there on a 40-39 stretch and won the game 71-59 in the end. Artese Stapleton was the leading scorer with 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Nakyel Shelton added 15 points with seven boards, while Kooper Jacobi doubled up on 14 points with 11 rebounds and two assists in 38 minutes of work. 

Lindenwood Lions Betting Preview

Over on the Lions’ side, they’ve been quite the erratic team this year and haven’t been able to sustain win streaks. Lindenwood went 6-7 in their first 13 outings, falling to Oklahoma, New Orleans, Robert Morris, Valparaiso, Missouri, Ole Miss and Tennessee Tech in that time. A 2-2 run came next with losses to Eastern Illinois and SIU Edwardsville, then wins over Tennessee State and TN-Martin. Over the next four, the Panthers went 1-3 with a win over SEMO alongside losses to Southern Indiana, Morehead State, and Little Rock. The result through the first 21 outings of the year was a 9-12 overall record for the Lions. 

On Thursday in the SIU Edwardsville matchup, the Lions were in trouble after the first half looking up at a 39-26 deficit on the scoreboard. Lindenwood rallied from there, however, notching a 39-24 run for a 65-63 comeback victory. Reggie Bass paced the team on his 20 points with four rebounds and two assists with one steal. Aly Tounkara came off the bench for 10 rebounds, two steals, two blocks, and five points in 21 minutes as well. 

Why the Lindenwood Lions will win

• Lindenwood (MO) has won five of its last six home games against the Ohio Valley Conference.
• Eastern Illinois has lost four of its last five day games against Conference opponents.
• Lindenwood (MO) has won the first half in three of its last four day games at Robert F. Hyland Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Eastern Illinois Panthers will win

• Lindenwood (MO) has lost 12 of its last 14 day games against Conference opponents.
• Eastern Illinois has won five of its last six day games following a road win.

Eastern Illinois vs Lindenwood Prediction 

I’ll stick with Eastern Illinois. The Panthers looked pretty good in their win over Western Illinois this week, notching 45 percent shooting with a 40-28 rebounding edge and just seven turnovers in the road matchup. EIU scored 13 points off 12 Leathernecks turnovers as well. The Panthers have bagged a pair of much-needed wins in their last two outings following a seven-game losing streak. 

These teams have seen each other once before, during a 78-74 overtime home win on January 2 for Eastern Illinois. Lindenwood came back from a 35-27 halftime deficit to force the extra period in that one but fell short. The Lions shot just 35 percent from the field and coughed up 20 turnovers during a sloppy overall game (41 total turnovers). Both teams really need to clean up the mistakes in this rematch, but we should have a pretty competitive and entertaining game if both play to their capabilities.