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

Tennessee State vs Eastern Illinois Pick & Preview: Saturday, February 4th Betting Odds

Tigers vs Panthers Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Tennessee State Tigers at Eastern Illinois Panthers
  • Where: Charleston at Lantz Arena
  • Date: Saturday, February 4th
  • Betting Odds: Tennessee State -1.5, TENST -128 | EILL +104 O/U 144.5

Tigers Preview:

Tennessee State will take their 2 game win streak into today’s game. So far, the team has an overall record of 13-11. On the road, the Tigers will be playing their 10th game of the season, having gone 2-8. So far, the Tigers have been favored 11 times, going 7-4 straight up. In today’s matchup, the oddsmakers have Tennessee State as -1.5 point favorites.

Tennessee State will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer J.R. Clay who is averaging 19.14 points per game for the Tigers. Clay 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 Tigers’ offensive game plan is the play of Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. who has hit 39.5% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 14.09 points per game.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Tennessee State this season, as they are currently ranked 188th in college basketball at 71.3 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 Tigers’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 35.0%, placing them 186th in the NCAA.

Panthers Preview:

The Eastern Illinois Panthers head into today’s game in what will be their 25th game of the season, posting a record of 7-17. So far this season, Eastern Illinois has played 12 games at home, sitting with a record of 5-7. For the season, Eastern Illinois has been the underdog in 18 games, sitting with a mark of 2-16. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Panthers being +1.5 point underdogs.

Eastern Illinois’ leading scorer this season is Kinyon Hodges, who is averaging 13.8 points per contest. So far, Hodges has accounted for 16.81% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 3.55 rebounds per game and 2.65 assists. Yaakema Rose Jr. is the second leading scorer for the Panthers, averaging 9.5 points per game. Between him and Jr., they are accounting for 30.7% of the team’s scoring.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Eastern Illinois this season, as they are currently ranked 504th in college basketball at 56.3 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 Panthers’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 32.6%, placing them 338th in the NCAA.

Free Spread Prediction: Tennessee State Tigers -1.5

In this matchup between the Tennessee State Tigers and Eastern Illinois Panthers, the oddsmakers have Tennessee State as the -1.5 point favories on the spread. According to our college basketball betting model, we anticipate the Tigers to cover the spread as the road favorites. We are looking for the Tigers’ offensive attack to put together a strong outside shooting performance. For the season, Tennessee State is averaging 6.59 made 3’s per game on a shooting percentage of 35.0%. A good outing from downtown will make a huge difference in the game as Eastern Illinois has struggled with their outside shot this season. This scenario has us feeling confident in taking Tennessee State laying the points.