Illinois State Redbirds vs Loyola Ramblers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 02/02/2022

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Venue:  Joseph J. Gentile Arena, Chicago, IL

Where to Watch:  ESPN+

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Illinois State +14.5, Loyola -14.5; Over/Under:  142.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Illinois State +14.5, Loyola -14.5; Over/Under:  142.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Illinois State +14.5, Loyola -14.5; Over/Under:  142.5 points

 

Illinois State Redbirds:  10-12 (7th place, MVC)

Loyola Ramblers:  16-4 (1st place, MVC)

 

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Illinois State Redbirds:  1-4 last 5

Loyola Ramblers:  3-2 last 5

 

 

 

Illinois State is coming into this game with a 10-12 record overall and they are 1-7 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 10th conference matchup of the year and they are currently 3-6 in their conference games this season. They have lost 4 of their last 5 games and are coming into this one on a 3 game losing streak after another loss in their last game. Their last win was against the Evansville Purple Aces while their 4 losses in that span came against the Missouri State Bears, the Evansville Purple Aces, the Drake Bulldogs, and the Northern Iowa Panthers in their last game. Liam McChesney led the team in points in that game with 19 while Antonio Reeves and Mark Freeman off the bench were both next on the team with 13 points each. Josiah Strong led the team in assists in that game with 4 while McChesney led the team in rebounds with 8. They are 46% from the field, 37.4% from 3-point range, and 73.7% from the free throw line with their shooting this season. Their offense is averaging 78 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 76.7 PPG against them. Illinois State has an ATS record of 11-9 this season and their O/U record is 13-7.

 

 

Loyola is coming into this game with a 16-4 record overall and they are 9-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 10th conference matchup on their schedule this year and they are currently 7-2 in their conference games this season. They have won 2 of their last 3 games but are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game which snapped a 2 game winning streak that they were on. Their 2 wins in that span were against the Southern Illinois Salukis twice while their loss came against the Drake Bulldogs in their last game. Chris Knight led the team in points in that game with 15 while Braden Norris and Marquise Kennedy were both next on the team with 12 points each. Norris led the team in assists in that game with 7 while Knight led the team in rebounds with 10. They are 48.4% from the field, 37.5% from 3-point range, and 72.4% from the free throw line with their shots this season. Their offense is averaging 74.4 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 61.9 PPG against them. Loyola has an ATS record of 7-11-1 this season and their O/U record is 12-7.

 

Loyola is coming into this game as a 14.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Loyola has not been playing their greatest recently but they have still been winning games and they have had a tougher schedule recently as well. Illinois State has been struggling on the road this season and they are coming off of a bad loss on the road by over 20 points. This is not the first time that has happened to them this season and it will not be the last as they have trouble against these better teams. Loyola plays very well on defense and they will keep Illinois State to a very low score in this game giving themselves the opportunity to pull away in this game. The best bet to place in this game is on Loyola to cover the spread here.

 

Illinois State Loyola Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Wednesday, February 2, 2022 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Loyola 77 Illinois State 57.

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Illinois State Redbirds: 13-7 O/U in all games. 21-11 O/U in road games. 6-3 O/U against conference opponents. 21-8 O/U after 1 or more consecutive unders. 8-2 O/U after 1 or more consecutive losses.

Loyola Ramblers: 12-7 O/U in all games. 20-14 O/U in all home games. 6-3 O/U against conference opponents. 23-14 O/U after one or more consecutive overs. 

 

 

Illinois State Redbirds:  S. Chatman (F) Ques Wed - Knee injury.

Loyola Ramblers:  None.

 

 

"I was very surprised. We never quit. I won't say we quit this game, but we let it slip when they got the lead and on the run and we kind of laid down. It happens when teams go on a run and you don't go on your run like we usually do. It happens." - Mark Freedom on their loss against Northern Iowa.

 

 

“I think offensively in the second half … we gotta be better with our decision making. I thought we broke off plays too much … we’ve got to understand that we’ve got to trust our brothers in the locker room, and that you don’t have to do it all on your own for us to be successful.” - Drew Valentine on his team’s loss against Drake.

 

 

 

S. Chatman 

M. Freeman 

K. Lewis 

A. Reeves 

J. Strong

 

J. Hutson 

M. Kennedy 

B. Norris 

Aher Uguak 

Lucas Williamson

 

 

PPG: A. Reeves (20.1)

APG: M. Freeman (3.9)

Reb/G: S. Chatman (6)

 

PPG: L. Williamson (12.4)

APG: B. Norris (4.4)

Reb/G: L. Williamson (4.9)

 

Coaches:

Illinois State Redbirds: Dan Muller (10th season)

Loyola Ramblers: Drew Valentine (1st season)