UIC vs Valparaiso Prediction 1/18/25 College Basketball Picks

The UIC Flames and the Valparaiso Beacons meet Saturday 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 UIC vs. Valparaiso prediction.

UIC Recap

The UIC Flames come into this game looking to add on to their 97-93 win over Murray State last time out to improve to 11-6 on the year. After this game, UIC will head back on the road for a game against the Evansville Purple Aces.

Flames Looking To Stay Hot

Javon Jackson leads the Flames in scoring with 13.1 PPG along with 3.1 APG and 1.7 SPG while Sasa Ciani has 11.6 PPG with a team-high 8.9 RPG to lead the Flames on the glass so far this season. Ahmad Henderson II has 10.8 PPG with 3.2 RPG and a team-high 3.4 APG to lead the Flames in the assist department this season while Tyem Freeman added 10.5 PPG with 3.5 RPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for UIC so far this season. Jordan Mason added 9.7 PPG with 3.3 RPG and 2.9 APG and Filip Skobalj has 9.6 PPG with 3.1 RPG. Modestas Kancleris also has 7.2 PPG with 6.2 RPG as well on the year. As a team, UIC is averaging 79.8 PPG on 47.6% shooting from the field, 36% from three, and 70.7% from the foul line this season.

Why the UIC Flames will win

• Valparaiso has lost 27 of its last 33 games against the Missouri Valley Conference.
• UIC has won four of its last five road games.

Valparaiso Recap

The Valparaiso Beacons come into this game looking to bounce back from a 71-64 loss at the hands of Belmont last time out to fall to 10-8 on the year. After this game, Valparaiso will head back on the road for a game against Drake.

Beacons Lose Back-To-Back Games

Cooper Schwieger leads the Beacons in scoring and rebounding with 14.4 PPG and 7.3 RPG while Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro has 11.7 PPG with 2.2 APG. Tyler Schmidt has 12.1 PPG and 3.5 RPG and All Wright has 10.7 PPG and 2.7 APG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Valparaiso so far this season. Darius DeAveiro has a team-high 2.7 APG to lead the Beacons in assists while Devon Ellis has 7 PPG with 3.2 RPG and Kaspar Sapp also has 6.9 RPG as well this season. As a team, Valparaiso is averaging 77.9 PPG on 43.2% shooting from the field, 33.5% from three, and 79.3% from the foul line this season.

Why the Valparaiso Beacons will win

• UIC has lost each of its last 11 Saturday road games against the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Valparaiso has won each of its last six day games at Athletics-Recreation Center.

UIC vs. Valparaiso Prediction

I’m going to back UIC here. Valparaiso was a cover darling for bettors in the early part of MVC play, and there’s really no denying that the Beacons have shown strides in improvement in conference play this year. However, so has UIC, and the Flames have been a cover machine for much of the season especially as of late and I just don’t know if I can step in front of that. Valpo’s offense at times has been spotty, while this is a UIC team that can run and gun and score 85-90 points if called upon. Give me the Flames here.