Evansville (9-14) vs Southern Illinois (10-13)
February 5, 2025 at 08:00 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Evansville -1 — Over/Under: 140
The Southern Illinois Salukis and the Evansville Aces meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Ford Center. Here’s a Southern Illinois vs Evansville prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Southern Illinois vs Evansville pick. We will examine:
The Southern Illinois Salukis’ recent form and player performance
The Evansville Aces’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Southern Illinois Salukis
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Evansville Aces
Recent betting trends in games played between Southern Illinois and Evansville
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Southern Illinois vs Evansville game
Southern Illinois Salukis Betting Preview
The Salukis had a pretty rough run of games going into January, but since then they’ve played better. Southern Illinois was 5-6 in their first 11 outings, taking losses to Charleston, Oklahoma State, Florida, Louisiana Tech, Eastern Kentucky, and Bradley in that time. A losing streak versus High Point, Northern Iowa, Evansville, Illinois State, and Belmont came next, then a 5-2 run. The losses in that time were versus Murray State and Drake. Otherwise, it was wins over Missouri State (twice), Northern Iowa, UIC, and Valparaiso in that time. The result so far has been a 10-13 overall record for the Salukis through the first 23 games of the season.
Southern Illinois was down by one point at halftime during their latest matchup versus Drake. The Salukis didn’t end up getting any closer though, falling behind further on a 47-38 second half for a 75-65 defeat in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Kennard Davis with 22 points, two rebounds, and one assist. Ali Dibba added 20 points with three steals, one assist, and one rebound, while Damien Mayo added nine points with four rebounds.
Evansville Aces Betting Preview
Over on the Evansville side, they’ve had a few pretty good runs this year but overall it’s been mostly losses in the record column. The Aces fell to North Texas, Middle Tennessee, Radford, and Ohio State during a 3-4 start, then lost to Murray State, Western Kentucky, Chattanooga, Texas Arlington, and Ball State in the next five outings. After a 3-1 run featuring wins over Missouri State, Southern Illinois, and Illinois State, the Aces lost to Drake, Northern Iowa, Belmont, and UIC in the next four. Since then however, it’s been three straight wins over Valparaiso, Murray State, and Belmont for a 9-14 overall run so far this season.
Matched up against the Bruins in their Sunday game, the Aces were down 38-37 going into the second half. Evansville hit a 43-37 run the rest of the way, however, eventually powering out the win 80-75. Gabriel Pozzato was the top team scorer with 22 points and three rebounds. Tayshawn Comer put up 19 points with five boards and six assists, and Tanner Cuff pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds with three assists and six points alongside three steals.
Why the Evansville Purple Aces will win
- Evansville has won each of its last three games.
- Southern Illinois has lost each of its last three games when playing with a rest advantage.
Why the Southern Illinois Salukis will win
- Southern Illinois has won 11 of its last 12 night games against Evansville.
- Evansville has lost 28 of its last 35 night games against Conference opponents.
- Evansville has lost the first half in six of its last seven games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Southern Illinois vs Evansville Prediction
I’ll stay with Evansville. There’s not a ton of intrigue involved here, but it should be a decent game. The Aces are coming off a nice win on the road versus a reasonably good Belmont team despite shooting just 41.5 percent from the field. The 44-35 rebounding edge helped out though, as did the relatively tame seven turnovers. The Aces are looking good during this current three-game win streak. They’ve hit 78 or more points in each of those outings.
These teams last saw each other on New Year’s Day in a 68-53 road win for the Aces. Evansville shot a nice 48 percent from the field in that one while holding the Salukis to just 31.1 percent on the other side. It was a pretty sloppy game though (13 turnovers on each side), so the Aces will need to watch the ball control this time.