Illinois State (8-9, 0-6) vs. Evansville (8-8, 2-4)
Redbird Arena; Normal, Ill.
6:05 CST TV: FSN
Illinois State almost had it, their first Valley win. The Redbirds, however, dropped another contest, this one to UNI 46-44. Yeah, that is a final score. The Redbirds will try their luck at home tonight, but they have not had much success there either.
Evansville will be looking for a first as well, a road win in the MVC. With their home win over Drake as a bit of momentum, the Purple Aces will be just fine keeping the Redbirds win less in the league.
Northern Iowa (12-6, 3-3) vs. Southern Illinois (9-8, 3-3)
McLeod Center; Cedar Falls, IA
7:05 PM CST
ESPN3.com & ESPN Full Court
On New Year’s Day, these two teams squared off in a game that ended with a Carlton Fay game winner with 2 seconds in the game to break a tie at 55. After an 0-2 start to league play, UNI has won three of their last four against Evansville, Bradley, and Illinois St. The winner of this game will be all alone in 5th place, at least for today. For the Panthers, Kerwin Dunham sprained an ankle against the Redbirds and is doubtful for tonight’s game.
Gene Teague played just 10 minutes last time out for the Salukis when they took on Illinois St. He is still working his way into game shape from an ankle injury. Against the Redbirds, Carlton Fay scored 33 in the 63-59 victory. Expect another low scoring match up tonight between these two defensive teams. The first one to 60 points may be the winner.
Drake (7-10, 2-4) vs. Wichita St. (14-3, 5-1)
Knapp Center; Des Moines, IA
7:05 PM CST
For the second time in two weeks these two teams meet. In their first meeting, Drake scored 31 in the first half and trailed by just 4 after allowing a Shocker 11-1 run to end the half. The second half story was quite different with Wichita scoring 47 en route to a 19-point victory. Drake dropped their last two games, against Indiana St. and at Evansville. Tonight won’t be much easier. Against Evansville the Bulldogs went 15-29 at the free throw line. If they want to stay remotely close, they will need to make their free throws.
Garrett Stutz strained his knee early in the Creighton game and is listed as day-to-day and is unlikely to play tonight. Ehimen Orukpe will see more action in the game but expect J.T. Durley, Aaron Ellis, and Gabe Blare to get the majority of the minutes inside. The loss of Stutz against Creighton didn’t stop Wichita St. from picking up the win. Wichita St. found a way to overcome a home loss against league leader Missouri St. After losing 17 in a row in Omaha, they plan to snap a four-game losing streak in Des Moines.