Illinois State (8-11, 0-8) vs. Southern Illinois (10-9, 4-4)
Redbird Arena; Normal, Ill.
7:05 CST TV: ESPNU
Illinois State is still looking for their first conference win, and they may have a better shot at home. Coming off a loss to UNI this past week, the Redbirds will need the fan support to will them past the Salukis of Southern Illinois.
SIU will come into the game after a convincing victory over Evansville 67-55. The Egyptian Dogs are sitting at .500 and certainly do not want to be the ones to give the Redbirds their first win. This one could be close, but the Salukis should have the advantage in this match up.
Evansville (9-9, 3-5) vs. Bradley (6-13, 0-8)
Roberts Stadium; Evansville, IN
1:05 CST
After dropping a game against SIU earlier in the week, a home contest with Bradley is a good pick me up for the Purple Aces. Currently 7th in the conference, wins against the bottom third of the league will help if the Purple Aces want to stay out of a Thursday night game in St. Louis. A win and they stay within a couple games of 5th place.
Bradley played one of their worst halves of basketball in the first half Wednesday in a road loss to Creighton allowing the Jays to score 39 points in the last 12 minutes to take a 49-24 halftime lead. Today they are back on the road again in search of their first conference win. They are in a stretch where they have lost 8 in a row and 13 of their last fifteen games. Will Egolf is coming off a 1-10 shooting night. Will today be the day everything clicks for the Braves?