Valparaiso at SIU-Edwardsville 11/12/19 - College Basketball Picks & Predictions

Valparaiso split its first two games of the season, with a two-point win against Toledo at home, and an 11-point loss against St. Louis on the road. The Crusaders lost 11 of their last 14 games last season and are looking to be more competitive in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.

Sophomore guard Javon Freeman-Liberty should fill up the scoring sheet this season for Valparaiso. Last season as a freshman, he averaged 11.0 points per game. To begin his second year as a Crusader, he scored 19 points in both of his first two games. A weakness in Freeman-Liberty's game last season was his shooting from 3-point range, where he shot just 28.9 percent. He was streaky from beyond the arc last year and may learn to be more selective as he develops with the Crusaders.

SIU-Edwardsville beat Quincy by nine points to open the season and followed that up with a 27-point loss against Iowa. The Cougars struggled to get reliable scoring and didn't have a player notch more than 10 points on the night. Additionally, they struggled from beyond the arc, knocking down just 4 of 18 attempts from distance.

Sophomore guard Cameron Williams may lead SIU-Edwardsville in scoring when all is said and done this season. He scored 17 against Quincy but was held to 10 against the Hawkeyes. In an overtime loss last year against Valpo, Williams hit 10 of 18 shots to wind up with 22 points for the Cougars.