The Drake Bulldogs (23-6) host the Illinois State Redbirds (10-19) tonight in a MVC matchup. These teams have not yet met this season, but last season Drake beat the Redbirds 89-88 in overtime, but Illinois State covered the spread as a 4.5-point dog.
Illinois State has lost five straight games, all in the conference, and most recently fell to Indiana State 80-64 last Saturday. Darius Burford led Illinois State with 23 points in the most recent loss and leads the team with 12.6 points and 2.5 assists per game on the season.
The Redbirds are 5-13 in conference play and 10th out of the 12 teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. The biggest advantage in the MVC goes to the top-4 teams who get a first-round bye in the conference tournament, but Illinois State is not in contention for that.
Redbirds to battle the Bulldogs on Wednesday night in Des Moines! pic.twitter.com/l7QLliilnk
— Illinois State Men's Basketball (@Redbird_MBB) February 22, 2023
Illinois State is 273rd in the nation according to KenPom, 246th in adjusted offensive efficiency, and 283rd on the defensive end. The biggest strength for Illinois State is its ability to shoot free throws, as they rank fifth in the nation, hitting 79.5%. The team has four players who are averaging double-digits and scoring, which includes Malachi Poindexter (10.1 ppg), who is shooting 94.5% from the free-throw line.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $100 1st w/ promocode WandW!