Check out our free Murray State vs Illinois State pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Normal. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

Murray State vs Illinois State Pick & Preview: Wednesday, February 15th Betting Odds

Racers vs Redbirds Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Murray State Racers at Illinois State Redbirds
  • Where: Normal at Redbird Arena
  • Date: Wednesday, February 15th
  • Betting Odds: Murray State +1, MURST -110 | ILLST -111 O/U 141.0

Racers Preview:

Heading into today’s matchup vs Illinois State, the Murray State Racers will be taking the floor for the 27th time this season and have an overall record of 13-13. So far, the Racers have played 14 games on the road, with a record of 4-10. For the season, Murray State has been the underdog in 14 games, sitting with a mark of 4-10. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Racers being +1 point underdogs.

Murray State will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Rob Perry who is averaging 14.38 points per game for the Racers. Perry is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Racers’ offensive game plan is the play of Jacobi Wood who has hit 40.8% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 10.88 points per game.

Murray State comes into today’s matchup vs Illinois State, looking to continue their strong offensive play, as they are averaging 79.3 points per game. Through 26 games, they have hit 47.9% of their field goal attempts. In terms of pace, the Racers have preferred to slow the game down, ranking 483rd in possessions per game.

Redbirds Preview:

Heading into today’s matchup vs Murray State, the Illinois State Redbirds will be taking the floor for the 28th time this season and have an overall record of 10-17. Currently, the Redbirds have been the home team 14 times, sitting with a record of 7-7. The Redbirds’ are sitting with a betting line that is -1 points in their favor. For the season, Illinois State has been favored to win in 11 games, sitting with a mark of 7-4.

Illinois State’s leading scorer this season is Seneca Knight, who is averaging 11.59 points per contest. So far, Knight has accounted for 16.79% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 5.7 rebounds per game and 1.33 assists. Darius Burford is the second leading scorer for the Redbirds, averaging 12.04 points per game. Between him and Burford, they are accounting for 33.6% of the team’s scoring.

On offense, Illinois State comes into the game looking to control the pace of play, as they are just 286th in possessions per game. Even with their preference to slow the game down, the Redbirds’ are scoring at a rate similar to the NCAA average at 74.2 points per game. So far, 36.91% of their shots have come from beyond the arc, where they have connected at a rate of 36.4%.

Free Spread Prediction: Illinois State Redbirds -1

If you are eying this matchup between Murray State Racers and Illinois State Redbirds as a candidate to place a bet, we have done the work for you and our model recommends taking Illinois State to cover the spread as -1 favorites on the road. Although both team’s are going to look to get up shots from outside, we see Illinois State shooting well enough to keep the Racers at bay. Before tip-off, lock in a bet on the Redbirds’ to win the game and cover the spread.