Murray State vs Valparaiso Prediction 12/21/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Murray State Racers and the Valparaiso Beacons meet Sunday in college basketball action from the Athletics-Recreation Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Murray State Racers vs. Valparaiso Beacons prediction.

Murray State Racers Recap

The Murray State Racers come into this game looking to add on to their 81-72 win over Drake last time out to sit at 8-3 this season. After this game, Murray State will head home for a game against Southern Illinois.

Racers Win 4 In A Row

Javon Jackson leads the Racers in scoring with 16 PPG along with 2.5 APG while Fred King has 12.5 PPG with 8.5 RPG to lead the Racers in rebounding. Roman Domon has 12.1 PPG with 5.3 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Murray State up to this point in the year. Mason Miller has 8.8 PPG with 4.3 RPG and JJ Traynor also has 9.1 PPG with 4 RPG and Brayden Shorter has 7.7 PPG while Layne Taylor has 8.7 PPG with 2.8 RPG and a team-high 4.2 APG to lead the Racers in assists up to this point in the year. As a team, Murray State is averaging 89.7 PPG on 48% shooting from the field, 37.8% from three and 75.1% from the foul line this season.

Valparaiso Beacons Recap

The Valparaiso Beacons come into this game looking to bounce back from an 86-70 loss at the hands of Northwestern last time out to sit at 6-5 this season. After this game, Valparaiso will head on the road for a game against Northern Iowa.

Beacons Drop Back-To-Back Games

Rakim Chaney leads the Beacons in scoring and assists with 11.4 PPG and 2.9 APG along with 3.3 RPG while JT Pettigrew has 10.5 PPG with 5.6 RPG and Owen Dease has 10.2 PPG with 2.9 RPG to round out the trio of double-digit scorers for Valparaiso so far this season. Brody Whitaker has 7.6 PPG with 2.8 RPG and Shon Tupuola has 7.5 PPG with a team-high 7.1 RPG to lead the Beacons in rebounding up to this point in the year. As a team, Valparaiso is averaging 72.8 PPG on 41.2% shooting from the field, 30.3% from three and 69.9% from the foul line this season.

Murray State Racers @ Valparaiso Beacons Betting Trends: December 21, 2025

Why the Valparaiso Beacons will win

• Murray State has lost five of its last six day games against Conference opponents.
• The home team has won four of Valparaiso’s last five games.
• Valparaiso has won the first half in four of its last five games.

Why the Murray State Racers will win

• Valparaiso has lost each of its last seven day games against Conference opponents.
• Murray State has won each of its last six games against Valparaiso.
• Murray State has won the first half in each of its last five games.

Total Points Facts

• Eight of Valparaiso’s last nine home games have produced a total of 143 or fewer points.
• Thirty of Murray State’s last 34 day games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 155 or fewer points.

Matchup/League Facts

• Valparaiso ranks 5th among Division 1 teams for opponent steals per game this season (4.5).
• Valparaiso ranks T49th among Division 1 teams for opponent assists per game this season (11.1).
• Murray State ranks 1st among Division 1 teams for opponent three-point field goal attempts per game this season (16.3).
• Murray State ranks T6th among Division 1 teams for opponent three-point field goals made per game this season (5.2).

Murray State Racers vs. Valparaiso Beacons Prediction

I’m on Murray State here. I just think the Racers are the better team and while Valparaiso hasn’t been as bad as I thought they’d be at this point in the year, I think that Valpo’s going to have trouble keeping up with the Racers and their pace in this game. I think that Murray State continues their dominance over Valpo here so give me the Racers.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Murray State -5.5