Who’s Playing

Evansville @ Illinois State

Current Records: Evansville 4-12; Illinois State 9-9

What to Know

The Evansville Aces are 2-12 against the Illinois State Redbirds since January of 2016, but they’ll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Aces and Illinois State will face off in a Missouri Valley battle at 7 p.m. ET at Redbird Arena. The teams split their matchups last year, with Evansville winning the first 57-48 at home on the road and Illinois State taking the second 73-68.

Evansville has to be aching after a bruising 77-48 defeat to the Loyola Chicago Ramblers on Tuesday. Evansville was surely aware of their 12-point disadvantage in the point spread, but the foreknowledge did nothing to prevent the result.

Meanwhile, the Redbirds suffered a grim 88-63 defeat to the Missouri State Bears on Wednesday. One thing holding Illinois State back was the mediocre play of guard Antonio Reeves, who did not have his best game: he finished with only nine points on 4-for-13 shooting in his 29 minutes on the court.

The losses put the Aces at 4-12 and Illinois State at 9-9. Two numbers to keep in mind before tip-off: Evansville is 351st worst in college basketball in points per game, with only 59.8 on average. Illinois State has experienced some struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the matchup with the seventh most points allowed per game in college basketball, having given up 78.2 on average. It’s possible one of these Achilles’ heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.

How To Watch

  • When: Friday at 7 p.m. ET
  • Where: Redbird Arena — Normal, Illinois
  • TV: ESPN Plus
  • Follow: CBS Sports App

Series History

Illinois State have won 12 out of their last 14 games against Evansville.

  • Jan 10, 2021 – Illinois State 73 vs. Evansville 68
  • Jan 09, 2021 – Evansville 57 vs. Illinois State 48
  • Feb 29, 2020 – Illinois State 71 vs. Evansville 60
  • Jan 29, 2020 – Illinois State 77 vs. Evansville 66
  • Mar 07, 2019 – Illinois State 65 vs. Evansville 60
  • Jan 19, 2019 – Illinois State 78 vs. Evansville 70
  • Jan 05, 2019 – Illinois State 58 vs. Evansville 46
  • Feb 03, 2018 – Illinois State 75 vs. Evansville 71
  • Dec 23, 2017 – Illinois State 72 vs. Evansville 66
  • Mar 03, 2017 – Illinois State 80 vs. Evansville 69
  • Jan 29, 2017 – Illinois State 69 vs. Evansville 59
  • Dec 29, 2016 – Illinois State 62 vs. Evansville 50
  • Feb 11, 2016 – Illinois State 70 vs. Evansville 60
  • Jan 15, 2016 – Evansville 66 vs. Illinois State 55

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