Valparaiso vs Southern Illinois Prediction 2/22/25 College Basketball Picks

The Valparaiso Beacons and the Southern Illinois Salukis meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Banterra Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Valparaiso vs. Southern Illinois prediction.

Matchup History

The Southern Illinois Salukis won the first meeting this season back on January 28th, 2025, by a final score of 79-75 at Valparaiso. The win marked the 7th straight win for Southern Illinois in this matchup head-to-head with SIU going 5-2 ATS in that 7-game run.

Valparaiso Recap

The Valparaiso Beacons come into this game looking to build on their 66-64 win over Missouri State last time out to improve to 12-16 on the year. After this game, Valparaiso will head home for a game against Bradley.

Beacons Looking For Consistency After Alternating Wins & Losses In 4 Straight

Cooper Schwieger leads the Beacons in scoring and rebounding with 14.8 PPG and 7.5 RPG while Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro has 10.9 PPG with 1.6 APG. Tyler Schmidt has 11 PPG and 3.1 RPG and All Wright has 13.2 PPG and 2.4 APG to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Valparaiso so far this season. Darius DeAveiro has a team-high 2.8 APG to lead the Beacons in assists while Devon Ellis has 5.6 PPG with 2.7 RPG and Kaspar Sepp also has 6.2 RPG as well this season. As a team, Valparaiso is averaging 76.1 PPG on 43.2% shooting from the field, 33.2% from three and 79.2% from the foul line this season.

Why the Valparaiso Beacons will win

• Southern Illinois has lost each of its last three games.
• The road team has won three of the last four games between Valparaiso and Southern Illinois.

Southern Illinois Recap

The Southern Illinois Salukis come into this game looking to shake off a 62-60 loss at the hands of Murray State last time out to fall to 12-16 on the year as well. After this game, Southern Illinois will welcome Illinois State to town.

Salukis Lose Three In A Row

Ali Dibba leads the Salukis in scoring with 16.8 PPG along with 4.6 RPG while Kennard Davis Jr. has 15.7 PPG with 5.1 RPG and 2.4 APG up to this point. Jarrett Hensley also has 10.7 PPG with 5.8 RPG to lead the Salukis on the glass so far this season and to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Southern Illinois. Sheridan Sharp also has a team-high 2.6 APG of his own as well on the year to lead Southern Illinois in assists. As a team, Southern Illinois is averaging 72.2 PPG on 45.8% shooting from the field, 34% from three and 68.6% from the foul line this season.

Why the Southern Illinois Salukis will win

• Southern Illinois has won each of its last seven games against Valparaiso.
• Valparaiso has lost each of its last six road games.

Total Points Facts

• Twelve of the last 13 games between Valparaiso and Southern Illinois have produced a total of 145 or fewer points.
• Three of Valparaiso’s last four road games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 148+ points.

Valparaiso vs. Southern Illinois Prediction

I’m on Valparaiso and the points here. I’m not sure who gets the win in the end in this game, but one thing I do know is that I’m not in the mood to lay this many points with a Southern Illinois team that can’t get out of their own way and continues to struggle. Valparaiso’s beein feisty at times and have been able to spring upsets if you will against teams on their level, which I think Southern Illinois definitely is. I’ll roll with Valparaiso and the points in this one.