The 2024-25 college basketball season begins on Monday afternoon when the Southern Illinois Salukis face the College of Charleston Cougars in The Field of 68 Opening Day Showcase in South Dakota. Both mid-major programs are debuting first-year head coaches, as former Louisville coach Chris Mack takes over at Charleston and former Wright State coach Scotty Nagy is in his first season with Southern Illinois. Charleston is coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances under former coach Pat Kelsey, losing to No. 4 seed Alabama in the first round last season. Southern Illinois has not made it to the Big Dance since 2007, but the Salukis have posted three straight winning seasons.
Tipoff is set for noon ET on Monday at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. After opening at -1.5, Charleston is now favored by 3.5 points in the latest Southern Illinois vs. Charleston odds via SportsLine consensus, while the over/under is 146.5 points. Before entering any Charleston vs. Southern Illinois picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the proven model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the 2024-25 season on a 153-110 betting roll (+1891) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Charleston vs. Southern Illinois. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the game:
- Southern Illinois vs. Charleston spread: Charleston -3.5
- Southern Illinois vs. Charleston over/under: 146.5 points
- Southern Illinois vs. Charleston money line: Charleston -163, Southern Illinois +138
- Southern Illinois vs. Charleston picks: See picks here
- Southern Illinois vs. Charleston streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why Charleston can cover
Charleston is heading into a new era after an extremely successful stint under Kelsey, but the Cougars brought in a proven head coach in Mack. He re-tooled the roster in the offseason by using the transfer portal and also has a pair of returners in Ante Brzovic and CJ Fulton. Brzovic was the second-leading scorer for Charleston last year, averaging 12.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists for a team that pushed eventual Final Four team Alabama in the NCAA Tournament.
He is surrounded by new talent like Lipscomb transfer Derrin Boyd, who averaged 17.6 points last season. The Cougars also brought in AJ Smith from The Citadel, where he scored 16.3 points and grabbed 4.3 rebounds per game. Delaware State transfer Deywilk Tavarez, who was the 2023-24 MEAC Rookie of the Year, joins Xavier's Lazar Djokovic as two more key transfers for Charleston. See which team to pick here.
Why Southern Illinois can cover
Southern Illinois has momentum as a program heading into its first season under Nagy, who spent 21 years as the head coach at South Dakota State, so this venue is very familiar to him. The Salukis lost many key contributors after the offseason coaching change, but they bring back an important player. Sophomore guard Kennard Davis Jr. was named to the preseason All-MVC Third Team after averaging 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last season.
Senior guard Ali Dibba also earned preseason recognition on the All-MVC Third Team as he heads into his first season with the program. Dibba averaged 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds for Abilene Christian last season, starting 30 games. In addition, Charleston has only covered the spread once in its previous six games played in November. See which team to pick here.
How to make Charleston vs. Southern Illinois picks
The model has simulated Southern Illinois vs. Charleston 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over the total, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Charleston vs. Southern Illinois, and which side of the spread hits 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Southern Illinois vs. Charleston spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on a 153-110 roll on top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.
