Illinois State vs Belmont Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/4/24

The Illinois State Redbirds and the Belmont Bruins meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Curb Event Center. Here’s an Illinois State vs Belmont prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Illinois State vs Belmont pick. We will examine:

The Illinois State Redbirds’ recent form and player performance

The Belmont Bruins’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Illinois State Redbirds

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Belmont Bruins

Recent betting trends in games played between Illinois State and Belmont

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

Illinois State Redbirds Betting Preview

The Redbirds lost to TN-Martin in their opener before a winning streak over North Dakota State, Ohio, and Trinity Christian. Illinois State is 1-2 since then with a win over UAB between losses to McNeese and George Washington.

In the matchup with George Washington way back on the 25th, the Redbirds held a two-point edge at the break. Illinois State was outscored by 10 from there in a 72-64 loss. Chase Walker led the team in the losing effort with 18 points and four boards.

Belmont Bruins Betting Preview

Over on the Bruins’ side, they’ve only got two blemishes on the schedule from Furman and LMU. Otherwise, it’s been wins over Maryville TN, Lipscomb, Air Force, Oral Roberts, Tulane, and Gardner-Webb.

Back on Friday versus Gardner-Webb, the Bruins came back from a 44-37 halftime deficit with 46 more points in an 83-74 win. Tyler Lundblade was the leading team scorer with 15 points and two steals off the bench.

Why the Belmont Bruins will win

• Illinois State has lost each of its last 15 Wednesday night road games against the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Belmont has won 35 of its last 38 night games at Curb Event Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Illinois State has lost the first half in each of its last three games against Conference opponents.

Why the Illinois State Redbirds will win

• Illinois State has won the first half in each of its last three night games.

Illinois State vs Belmont Prediction

I’ll stay with Belmont. The Bruins started out slowly in their comeback win over Gardner-Webb and eventually went just 8-of-33 (24.2 percent) from 3-point range with a 40-38 rebounding deficit and 12 turnovers. The strong second half really helped. Belmont has now scored 79 or more points in all six of their wins this year.

As for Illinois State, they went just 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range and got outmuscled on the boards 33-29 in their loss to George Washington. The Redbirds have 68 or fewer points in all three of their losses and 77 or more points in all four of their wins. If Belmont can keep the defense tight and win the rebounding battle here, I think the Bruins will be fine cover-wise.