Half-time report
Illinois State is on the road but doesn’t seem to be in any worse shape. They jumped out to an early 33-25 lead against Murray State.
If Illinois State continues to play like this, their record will drop to 9-5 in no time. On the other hand, Murray State will have to settle for a 7-7 record unless they turn things around (and quickly).
Who’s playing
Illinois State Redbirds @ Murray State Runners
Current records: Illinois State 8-5, Murray State 7-6
How to watch
What you need to know
After five road games, Murray State returns home. They and the Illinois State Redbirds will face off in a Missouri Valley battle on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET at the CFSB Center. After earning a win as an underdog, the Racers will come in as favorites.
After struggling through four straight losses, Murray State finally turned things around against Loyola Chi. last Wednesday. They certainly got their nails bitten, but they managed to escape with a 71-68 win over the Ramblers.
Among those leading the charge was KyeRon Lindsay, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 16 points plus five rebounds and four steals.
Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored Illinois State last Sunday, but the final result didn’t. They lost 73-67 to UIC. The Redbirds led 14-2 in the first half, but were unable to maintain the lead.
The losing team was strengthened by Malachi Poindexter, who scored 20 points. He struggled to find his footing against Cornell last Sunday, so this was a nice turnaround.
Murray State now has a winning record of 7-6. As for Illinois State, their loss ended a five-game home winning streak and dropped them to 8-5.
A high-performance offense is likely on the agenda, as both teams are among the highest-scoring teams in the league. Murray State has had no problem running up the score this season, averaging 76.8 points per game. However, it’s not like Illinois State is struggling in this department, as its average was 79.1. With both teams so easily able to rack up points, the only question that remains is who can run up the score.
Murray State couldn’t finish off Illinois State in the teams’ last game in January 2024 and lost 61-59. Can Murray State avenge its loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll know soon enough.
Odds
Murray State is a solid 5.5-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 Racers as 6.5-point favorites.
The over/under is 138.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get Picks Now.
History of the series
Murray State has won 6 of its last 9 games against Illinois State.
- January 30, 2024 – Illinois State 61 vs. Murray State 59
- December 03, 2023 – Illinois State 76 vs. Murray State 72
- February 15, 2023 – Murray State 76 vs. Illinois State 75
- December 01, 2022 – Murray State 70 vs. Illinois State 67
- November 16, 2021 – Murray State 77 vs. Illinois State 65
- December 05, 2020 – Murray State 76 vs. Illinois State 65
- December 9, 2017 – Murray State 78 vs. Illinois State 72
- November 11, 2016 – Murray State 73 vs. Illinois State 70
- December 13, 2015 – Illinois State 63 vs. Murray State 61
