Illinois State vs Cleveland State 03/26/25 - NCAAB Picks & Predictions

The Illinois State Redbirds will stay in Daytona Beach on Wednesday for the championship game and the CBI tournament. Illinois State comes into this matchup with 21 wins and 14 losses on the year following a 5 point victory against Incarnate Word in the semifinals of the tournament on Tuesday. Offensively Illinois State was the better team scoring 78 points including 47 in the second half on 43.6% shooting from the floor. Defensively the Redbirds did the job holding Incarnate Word to 73 points on 39.7% shooting from the floor in the game period stay in the action with our College Basketball Picks.

Chase Walker led the way for the Illinois State offense in their semifinal win with 27 points on 16 shots. Johnny Kinzinger was second on the roster with 13 points in 35 minutes of action. Ty Pence led the way off the Illinois State bench with 15 points on 11 shots in 31 minutes.

The Cleveland State Vikings come into Wednesday night for the CBI championship game with 22 wins and 12 losses on the year following a 7 point victory against Florida Gulf Coast late Tuesday night. Defensively Cleveland State was the better team Tuesday giving up 65 points on 45.6% shooting from the floor. Offensively the Vikings did just enough scoring 72 points on 37.7% shooting from the floor and knocked down 6 triples in the game period Cleveland State lost the rebounding battle by 5 but forced 13 turnovers to seal the victory.

Tahj Staveskie led the way for the Cleveland State starters with 16 points on 10 shots in the game. Tevin Smith chipped in eight points on 13 shots and Dylan Arnett added seven points and six rebounds. Je’Shawn Stevenson led all scorers for Cleveland State with 17 points on nine shots off the bench.

The Vikings are the better team in this game and will do the work Wednesday. Take Cleveland State to finish their season off the right way with a win in this game. Cleveland State will do the work leading to the win and cover in the CBI title game. Final Score Prediction, Cleveland State Vikings win and cover 76-63.