Evansville at Illinois State 1/29/20 - College Basketball Picks & Predictions

The Evansville Purple Aces hit the road on Wednesday to play at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois against the Illinois State Redbirds. Evansville fell to 9-12 overall and 0-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference following its 67-65 loss on Sunday to the Valparaiso Crusaders. Evansville rallied in the second half from a 13-point halftime deficit to trail by two points but could get no closer.

K. J. Riley is the leading scorer and rebounder and assist leader with averages of 11.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Sam Cunliffe is the second leading scorer for Evansville with an average of 10.7 points per game and one of three players for the Purple Aces averaging double figures in scoring.

Illinois State fell to 6-14 overall and 1-7 in the MVC following its 58-55 loss to Southern Illinois. Illinois State led at the half 23-17 but could not hold that lead on the road. Zach Copeland led the Redbirds in the loss with 24 points hitting five three-pointers while Jaycee Hillsman scored 11 points.

Zach Copeland is the leading scorer for the Redbirds with an average of 15.7 points per game, while Keith Fisher III is the second leading scorer and leading rebounder with averages of 8.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Ricky Torres is the leader in assists with an average of 3.0 per game.