The Illinois State Redbirds (11-20, 6-14 MVC) and Northern Iowa Panthers (13-17, 9-11) meet Thursday at Enterprise Center in St. Louis in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Illinois State vs. Northern Iowa game odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Illinois State snapped a 6-game losing skid with a 72-53 win over lowly Evansville in the regular-season finale Sunday. It was also the team’s first cover in 7 games, snapping a 0-6-1 against-the-spread (ATS) skid previously.
Northern Iowa dropped its final 2 games, and 8 of the last 9 games of the regular season, while covering the spread just once in its final 7 contests. The Over cashed in the final 4 outings and was 11-3-1 in the last 15 games overall.
UNI swept the regular-season series, winning 66-60 at Redbird Arena as a 1-point underdog as the Under (134.5) cashed on New Year’s Eve. The Panthers then posted a 65-63 home win on Jan. 18, with ISU covering (+8.5) and the Under (135) connecting.