More thrilling college basketball action comes Friday, December 11, so I bring you the best betting pick, tips, and trends for the non-conference clash at Banterra Center in Carbondale, Illinois, where the Murray State Racers take on the Southern Illinois Salukis.
These two schools will meet for the eighth straight year, and the Racers are 5-2 straight up and ATS in their previous seven encounters with the Salukis. Last season, Murray State comfortably beat Southern Illinois 79-66 as 10-point home favorites.
The Racers want to stay on the winning path and get things going on the road
After a surprising 78-61 defeat at the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders as 8-point road favorites, the Murray State Racers have won two straight games, improving to 3-1 on the season. They’ve outlasted the Illinois State Redbirds 76-65 as 11.5-point home favorites and the Austin Peay Governors 87-57 as 3.5-point home favorites.
Junior guard Tevin Brown is the Racers’ best player this season, no doubt. He’s averaging 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game while making 39.3% of his 3-pointers. Three more guys are scoring points in double figures including junior forward K.J. Williams (15.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 67.5 FG%).
The Racers are now riding a 24-game win streak on the home court. On the other hand, they are only 2-4 SU and 1-4-1 ATS in the last six games on the road. This season, the Racers are tallying 103.6 points per 100 possessions (91st in the nation) while yielding 95.9 to their opponents (106th).
The Salukis will try to stay unbeaten despite the odds
The Southern Illinois Salukis are 2-0 on the season following a 102-61 victory to the Quincy Hawks this past Sunday. It was an easy task for the Salukis who shot 55.6% from the field and 43.5% from downtown while turning the ball over just six times.
Southern Illinois opened with an 87-79 overtime victory at the Southern Missouri State Redhawks, covering a 4.5-point spread. Sophomore wing Marcus Domask dropped 24 points on the Redhawks, while sophomore guard Ben Harvey had 22 points and seven rebounds.
The Salukis are posting 97.4 points per 100 possessions (206th in the nation) while surrendering 100.1 to their rivals (186th). They’ve won 12 of their last 14 games on the home court, covering the spread ten times in the process.
Trends:
Murray State:
- 5-2 ATS in the last seven games overall
Southern Illinois:
- 3-6 ATS in the last nine games overall
- 2-5 ATS in the last seven games against Murray State
[metabet_core_odds_compare query=”ncabb/murray_state” size=”300×250″ site_id=”atsio” css=”float:right; margin-left:10px”]The Winner Prediction
Simply put, the Racers are a better team than the Salukis on both sides of the ball. Also, the Racers should dominate this game physically, so I’m backing them to cover on DraftKings.
Still, this is a tough matchup on the road, so I won’t hesitate to buy a few points. As I’ve mentioned, the Salukis have been terrific at home lately, while the Racers have had some problems on the road.
However, I like this Racers team with Tevin Brown and K.J. Williams onwards. They are coming off a huge victory over Austin Peay which should be a massive boost for their confidence.
Pick: Take Murray State -6
The Total:
The under is 14-2 in Murray State’s last 16 games overall, and it is 6-0 in the Racers’ previous six outings on the road. On the other side, the over has hit in five of the Salukis’ last six outings at home and four of the last five matchups between Southern Illinois and Murray State.
I’m taking the under, as both teams prefer to play at a slow pace. The Salukis averaged only 69.3 possessions per 40 minutes through their first two showings of the season (310th in the country), while the Racers averaged 70.4 possessions per 40 minutes through their first four contests (254th).
Pick: Go under 134
