Illinois State will return from Christmas break when it travels to UIC on Wednesday night. The Redbirds have won four of their last five games, including a 66-52 win over Chicago State on Dec. 19. UIC had its three-game winning streak snapped in a 92-54 loss to Northwestern on Dec. 20.
Illinois State got off to a slow start this season, losing six of its eight games. The Redbirds were 6-point favorites in their loss to Northwestern State, but they were underdogs in their four losses after that. They bounced back with an 87-77 win over Belmont as 5-point underdogs before beating Eastern Michigan and SIU Edwardsville, covering the spread in both of those games. Illinois State had its three-game winning streak snapped in an 83-69 loss to Ball State in 10 days, but it responded with a 66-52 win over Chicago State, covering the 7.5-point spread. The Redbirds have not played a true road game since Dec. 1.
The Illinois State men's basketball team returns from an extended break between games because of the Holidays, as the squad travels north to Chicago to face off against the UIC Flames on Wednesday evening.
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— Illinois State Men's Basketball (@Redbird_MBB) December 27, 2022
They have been dealing with extreme turnover issues this season, ranked No. 307 of 363 teams in turnover rate. Illinois State has strong offensive rebounding numbers and the seventh-best free throw percentage (80.0) in the country. It will be facing a UIC defense that is No. 59 in turnover rate, but it is No. 325 in offensive rebounding percentage. Senior forward Kendall Lewis leads Illinois State with 12.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Junior guard Darius Burford (10.9) and senior guard Seneca Knight (10.5) are both scoring in double figures as well. The Redbirds are No. 138 in experience and are facing an inexperienced UIC team (No. 326).