USATSI
The No. 8 seed Southern Illinois Salukis will face the No. 9 seed Indiana State Sycamores in the first round of the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday afternoon. These teams met in the final game of the regular season on Sunday, as Indiana State notched a 95-77 win at home. The Sycamores snapped a three-game losing streak with that victory, moving into a three-way tie with Southern Illinois and Evansville in the final standings heading into Arch Madness. Southern Illinois has lost five of its last six games, with three of those losses coming by five points or less.
Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. ET on Thursday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Southern Illinois is favored by 1.5 points in the latest Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State odds, while the over/under is 153.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Indiana State vs. Southern Illinois picks, you’ll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 18 of the 2024-25 season on a 221-162 betting roll (+1895) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Indiana State-Southern Illinois. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the game:
- Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State spread: Southern Illinois -1.5
- Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State over/under: 153.5 points
- Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State money line: Southern Illinois: -111, Indiana State: -108
- Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State picks: See picks here
- Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why Southern Illinois can cover
Southern Illinois struggled down the stretch of the regular season, but it won seven out of nine conference games at one point this season. The Salukis also notched an 88-79 win over Illinois State last Tuesday, despite closing as 1.5-point underdogs. Sophomore guard Kennard Davis Jr. had 24 points, five assists and four rebounds, shooting 7 of 12 from the floor.
Senior guard Ali Dibba added 22 points, six rebounds and four assists, while freshman guard Drew Steffe chipped in 18 points. Davis was the leading scorer again in the loss to Indiana State on Saturday, finishing with 19 points. Southern Illinois has covered the spread in 13 of the last 19 meetings between these teams. See which team to pick here.
Why Indiana State can cover
Indiana State was clearly the better team when these sides met on Saturday, racing out to a 52-31 lead at halftime before cruising in the second half. The Sycamores lost five of their previous six games, but four of those losses came on the road. They took conference-leading Drake to overtime as 13.5-point underdogs while also covering the spread as road underdogs at Belmont.
Senior guard Samage Teel had 20 points, six assists and four rebounds in the dominant win over Southern Illinois, shooting 6 of 10 from the floor. Senior forward Aaron Gray posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore forward Camp Wagner added 18 points and two assists. Indiana State has covered the spread in six of its last nine games, and Southern Illinois is just 1-5 against the spread in its last six outings. See which team to pick here.
How to make Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State picks
The model has simulated Indiana State vs. Southern Illinois 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Southern Illinois vs. Indiana State, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Indiana State vs. Southern Illinois spread you need to jump on, all from the model on an 221-162 roll on top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.
