Bradley (8-9, 3-4) @ Southern Illinois
SIU Arena
Carbondale, IL 7:05 CT
TV – Mediacom-IL & Comcast-IL
In a shootout in Peoria in their first meeting that saw the Salukis come out on top 86-81, these two teams meat again at the midway point of the conference schedule. SIU overcame a 7-point deficit in the final minute and a half to win by 5. Last time out the Salukis won at Evansville. They played without Nick Evans. Will he be back in the line-up tonight? Gene Teague the newcomer of the week, he’s picked up the slack in the middle scoring with 12 points and 7 rebounds in 17 minutes against the Purple Aces.
The Braves are struggling, winners of three of their last ten games. They’ve been on both sides of the fence in close games, winning in overtime against Indiana State and losing by at Northern Iowa. It won’t be easy tonight at SIU Arena. SIU has lost their last two home games and will be looking to give their fans something to cheer about. That last loss came against Drake, which was their first conference win of the season. After letting the Salukis steal a win in Peoria, the Braves plan to return the favor.
– Panon
Drake (5-11, 3-4) @ Evansville (6-11, 0-7)
Roberts Stadium
Evansville, IN 7:05 CT
A three-game win streak has the Bulldogs riding high. They won at SIU and at home against Illinois State and Missouri State. Vegas has the Purple Aces favored in this game. That’s probably the way the Bulldogs prefer it. They weren’t favored in each of those last three games but that didn’t stop them from winning. During the streak, they’ve shot just over 50% and held opponents to 25%. Coach Phelps will take that any night. Teams rarely lose shooting twice as better than the competition.
The Purple Aces will try and be that team to shoot over 25% against Drake. Colt Ryan has had the hot hand as of late for Evansville. The freshman scored 21 or more in three straight games. He’s pushed his average to 15.7 ppg on the season, good for second in the Valley. Fellow freshman Denver Holmes has come on as of late to give the Purple Aces a solid freshman duo. They will need some help to hold off the strong three-point shooting of the Bulldogs. If they can get James Haarsma on the floor (who’s battled elbow and foot injuries), he will give them a strong presence inside which could help them pull off the win against a hot team.
– Panon
