Illinois State Redbirds (8-5, 0-2 MVC) at Murray State Racers (7-6, 1-1 MVC)
Murray, Kentucky; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Racers -5.5; over/under is 138.5
BOTTOM LINE: Illinois State visits Murray State after Malachi Poindexter scored 20 points in Illinois State’s 73-67 loss to the UIC Flames.
The Racers have gone 4-1 in home games. Murray State is 3-6 against opponents with a winning record.
The Redbirds are 0-2 against conference opponents. Illinois State ranks second in the MVC with 25.3 defensive rebounds per game led by Dalton Banks averaging 4.4.
Murray State’s average of 7.7 made 3-pointers per game is 1.0 fewer made shot on average than the 8.7 per game Illinois State gives up. Illinois State has shot at a 48.8% rate from the field this season, 4.7 percentage points higher than the 44.1% shooting opponents of Murray State have averaged.
The Racers and Redbirds match up Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jacobi Wood is scoring 13.6 points per game and averaging 3.9 rebounds for the Racers.
Chase Walker is averaging 14.6 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Redbirds.
LAST 10 GAMES: Racers: 5-5, averaging 72.9 points, 29.7 rebounds, 11.0 assists, 6.7 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.1 points per game.
Redbirds: 6-4, averaging 80.1 points, 31.8 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 5.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 50.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.0 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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