Illinois St. Redbirds vs Ill.-Chicago Flames Betting Picks & Predictions
Illinois St. is on the road playing Ill.-Chicago at the Credit Union 1 Arena stadium on Wednesday, 12/28/2022 @ 8:00pm EST. Ill.-Chicago -3 was the opening favorite and
Game outlook
Illinois St. is on the road playing Ill.-Chicago at the Credit Union 1 Arena stadium on Wednesday, 12/28/2022 @ 8:00pm EST. Ill.-Chicago -3 was the opening favorite and current line is Ill.-Chicago -1.
On Wednesday night, Illinois State will return from the Christmas break and travel to UIC. Four of the Redbirds' last five games have been victories, including a 66-52 win over Chicago State on Dec. 19. Northwestern snapped UIC's three-game winning streak on Dec. 20 with a 92-54 victory.
The Redbirds played their first road game in nearly a month
Six of Illinois State's eight games have ended in losses this season. Despite being 6-point favorites in their loss to Northwestern State, the Redbirds were underdogs in their subsequent four losses. In their next two games, they beat Eastern Michigan and SIU Edwardsville, covering the spread in both. An 83-69 loss to Ball State in 10 days ended Illinois State's three-game winning streak, but a 66-52 win over Chicago State overcame the 7.5-point spread. Since Dec. 1, the Redbirds have not played on the road.
The team has experienced extreme turnover issues this season, ranking No. 307 out of 363 teams. Illinois State ranks seventh in the country in offensive rebounding and free throw percentage (80.0). UIC ranks No. 59 in turnover rate, but No. 325 in offensive rebounding percentage. Senior forward Kendall Lewis leads Illinois State with 12.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Both junior guard Darius Burford (10.9) and senior guard Seneca Knight (10.5) are scoring in double figures. UIC (No. 326) is inexperienced compared to the Redbirds (No. 138).