Half-time report
Cornell and Illinois State showed up to the game, but their offenses certainly didn’t. After one quarter, neither team had the game in the bag, but Cornell led Illinois State 45-43.
Cornell entered the contest having won three straight and they are now only half of each other. Will they make it to No. 4, or will Illinois State step in and ruin it? We will know soon.
Who’s playing
Illinois State Redbirds @ Cornell Big Red
Current records: Illinois State 7-4, Cornell 7-3
How to watch
What you need to know
Illinois State had a three-game homestand but will have to dust off its road jersey soon. They will venture far from home to take on the Cornell Big Red on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET at Newman Arena. The Redbirds are strutting around with some offensive power as they have averaged 80.1 points per game this season.
If Illinois State beats Cornell by 81 points on Sunday, that will be the team’s new lucky number: They’ve won their last two games by that exact score. Everything went in Illinois State’s favor against N. Illinois on Wednesday as Illinois State won 81-60.
Illinois State got its win thanks to several key players, but it was Dalton Banks up front who went 8 of 10 en route to 17 points plus eight rebounds and three steals. The dominant performance also gave Banks a new career high in field goal percentage (80%). Another player who made the difference was Johnny Kinziger, who collected 12 points in addition to seven rebounds and six assists.
Illinois State worked as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. They easily outscored their opponents in this department as N. Illinois only posted ten.
Meanwhile, Cornell came into their game two weeks ago with two straight wins… but they came away with three. They won against the Golden Bears by a score of 88-80.
AK Okereke stood out offensively in the game going 10 of 18 on his way to 24 points plus six rebounds and three steals. The team also got help from Nazir Williams, who went 7 of 12 on his way to 18 points plus two steals.
Illinois State improved its record to 7-4 with the win, which was its fifth straight at home. As for Cornell, they’ve been on a roll lately: They’ve won four of their last five games, which gave their record a nice bump to 7-3 this season.
Sunday’s contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Illinois State simply can’t miss this season, making 49.6 percent of its field goals per game. However, it’s not like Cornell is struggling in this department as they have drained 49.4% of their field goals this season. Given these competing forces, it will be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Illinois State is hoping to defy the odds on Sunday as experts believe it is headed for a loss. They might be worth an early bet since they’ve covered the spread the last four times they’ve played.
Odds
Cornell is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Illinois State, according to the latest college basketball odds.
Oddsmakers had a good idea of ​​the line for this one, as the game opened with the Big Red as a 5.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 158.5 points.
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