Valparaiso Beacons (10-12, 3-8 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (13-9, 5-6 MVC)
Normal, Illinois; Saturday, 5 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Redbirds -8.5; over/under is 144.5
BOTTOM LINE: Valparaiso visits Illinois State after All Wright scored 22 points in Valparaiso’s 79-75 loss to the Southern Illinois Salukis.
The Redbirds are 9-3 on their home court. Illinois State is 3-3 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Beacons are 3-8 in MVC play. Valparaiso is ninth in the MVC with 22.7 defensive rebounds per game led by Cooper Schwieger averaging 5.1.
Illinois State scores 76.4 points per game, 2.4 more points than the 74.0 Valparaiso gives up. Valparaiso has shot at a 43.2% clip from the field this season, 1.7 percentage points fewer than the 44.9% shooting opponents of Illinois State have averaged.
The Redbirds and Beacons square off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Chase Walker is averaging 14.7 points and six rebounds for the Redbirds. Johnny Kinziger is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Schwieger is averaging 14.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for the Beacons. Wright is averaging 13 points over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 5-5, averaging 72.0 points, 28.9 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 5.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.3 points per game.
Beacons: 3-7, averaging 72.5 points, 29.9 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 6.9 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 41.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.9 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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