Check out our free Southern Illinois vs Valparaiso pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Valparaiso. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Southern Illinois vs Valparaiso Pick & Preview: Tuesday, February 14th Betting Odds
Salukis vs Beacons Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Southern Illinois Salukis at Valparaiso Beacons
- Where: Valparaiso at Athletics-Recreation Center
- Date: Tuesday, February 14th
- Betting Odds: Southern Illinois -3.5, SILL -174 | VALP +140 O/U 131.5
Salukis Preview:
Southern Illinois will take the floor against the Beacons with an overall record of 19-8. On the road, the Salukis will be playing their 13th game of the season, having gone 6-7. So far, the Salukis have been favored 18 times, going 14-4 straight up. In today’s matchup, the oddsmakers have Southern Illinois as -3.5 point favorites.
Marcus Domask comes into today’s game as the Salukis’ leading scorer at 16.67 points per contest. Not only has Domask been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Southern Illinois’ top rebounder at 5.81 boards per contest. Behind Domask, the team has benefited from the strong play of Lance Jones, who is second on the team in scoring at 14.11 points per game. Overall, he has hit 36.8% of his shots and is adding 3.11 boards per game.
Offensive production has been hard to come by for Southern Illinois this season, as they are currently ranked 402nd in college basketball at 64.0 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Salukis’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 35.4%, placing them 158th in the NCAA.
Beacons Preview:
Through 27 games, the Valparaiso Beacons have an overall record of 11-16. Currently, the Beacons have been the home team 15 times, sitting with a record of 9-6. So far, the Beacons have been the underdog 17 times, going 2-15 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +3.5 underdogs on the spread.
Ben Krikke comes into today’s game as the Beacons’ leading scorer at 18.85 points per contest. Not only has Krikke been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Valparaiso’s top rebounder at 5.81 boards per contest. Behind Krikke, the team has benefited from the strong play of Kobe King, who is second on the team in scoring at 16.33 points per game. Overall, he has hit 42.3% of his shots and is adding 4.15 boards per game.
Offensive production has been hard to come by for Valparaiso this season, as they are currently ranked 214th in college basketball at 70.8 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Beacons’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 33.3%, placing them 309th in the NCAA.
Free Spread Prediction: Valparaiso Beacons +3.5
In today’s matchup, our analysis has identified the best bet as an opportunity to bet on a home underdog. Coming into the game, the Southern Illinois Salukis are the betting favorite with a point spread set at -3.5. However, we anticipate Valparaiso putting up a strong fight and benefiting from playing at home and see them covering the spread. It is likely, the the public is going to side heavily with the Salukis as the favorite. But, we see this line being set too high and like the value of taking the Beacons to cover.
