Belmont Bruins vs Illinois State Redbirds Betting Pick & Prediction 1/23/24

Looking to win big? The Bruins and Redbirds face off at 8:00 ET on ESPN+. The Redbirds are hosting the game at CEFCU Arena in Normal, IL. The over/under for this Missouri Valley conference contest is set at 144.5 points, with the Redbirds being the favored team playing at home against the Bruins.

BELMONT BRUINS VS ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Illinois State Redbirds -1.5

This game will be played at CEFCU Arena at 8:00 ET on Tuesday, January 23rd.

WHY BET THE ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS:

• We have this one finishing with a projected score of 77-68 in favor of the Redbirds.
• Not only will Illinois State pick up the win, but look for them to cover at -1.5.
• The over/under is currently sitting at 144.5 points, and we like the over with a projected 145 points.

Will the Bruins Defense Show Up in Normal?

Belmont is coming off a 95-72 loss to Bradley, and they have now lost three straight games. Their overall record is 11-8, and they are 4-4 in Missouri Valley Conference games. On the road, the Bruins are 4-7 this season, and their average scoring margin is -8.0 points per game.

So far, Belmont has been an underdog in 11 of their 19 games, and their record in those games is 4-7. They are +1.5 point underdogs for tonight’s game against Illinois State, and the over/under is set at 144.5 points.

As the underdog this season, Belmont has an ATS record of 4-7 and they have gone 0-3 vs. the spread in their last 3 road games. Overall, the Bruins are 6-12 ATS this year. On the road, their ATS record sits at 4-7 and they have gone 1-4 vs. the spread in their last 5 road games.

Belmont’s over/under record for the season sits at 9-9, and the average scoring total in their games is 157 points. Today’s over/under line of 144.5 is lower than the average OU line in their games this season (155.3), and 13 of their games have finished with more points than today’s OU line. Over their last three games, the over/under record is 2-1 with an average scoring total of 159 points.

Compared to their season average of 77.8 points per game, Belmont struggled in their previous game. Against Bradley, the Bruins scored 72 points while finishing with a field goal percentage of 48.1%. Cade Tyson was the leading scorer for the Bruins, putting up 23 points. In addition, Malik Dia contributed 20 points.

Facing Illinois State, Belmont aims for a better defensive performance, given their current average of 78.9 points allowed per game (291st). Against Bradley, the Bruins’ defense gave up 95 points and did a good job not fouling. For the game, Bradley only made 5 free-throws.

Can the Illinois State Offense Score Enough at Home?

Illinois State will be looking to snap their three-game home losing streak when they take on Belmont as 1.5-point favorites. So far this season, the Redbirds have gone 6-4 at home compared to 2-6 on the road.

Overall, Illinois State has gone 9-10, including a 3-5 record in Missouri Valley Conference play. In their most recent game, the Redbirds defeated Missouri State by a score of 69-60.

Illinois State has an ATS record of 7-11 this season and they are 4-4 vs. the spread when favored. Their home ATS mark is 5-5 and they have gone 0-3 vs. the number in their last three home games. Over their last 10 games as the favorite, the Redbirds have an ATS record of 5-5.

Illinois State’s over/under record for the season is 8-10 and today’s line of 144.5 is higher than the average over/under line in their games (140.6). Over their last three games, the average scoring total is 123 points and their over/under record during that stretch is 0-3. Currently, their last five games have an average of 125 points.

The Illinois State offense is coming off a game where they scored 69 points against Missouri State. They posted a field goal percentage of 43.1% and connected on 7 threes. Darius Burford was the leading scorer for the Redbirds, putting up 22 points. In addition, Luke Kasubke contributed 12 points.

At this time, the Redbirds’ defense is positioned 92nd in the country, permitting 68.6 points per game. Illinois State’s three-point defense is currently 120th in the country at 6.9 made threes per game. In terms of overall field goal percentage, opponets have hit 42.5% of their shots vs. Illinois State.