Halftime Report

S. Illinois has overcome an early deficit to take the lead back in this one. They have jumped out to a quick 31-27 lead against La. Tech.

If S. Illinois keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 3-3 in no time. On the other hand, La. Tech will have to make due with a 4-1 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

S. Illinois Salukis @ La. Tech Bulldogs

Current Records: S. Illinois 2-3, La. Tech 4-0

How To Watch

What to Know

The S. Illinois Salukis will face off against the La. Tech Bulldogs at 3:00 p.m. ET on Monday at Hertz Arena. The Salukis are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 76.2 points per game this season.

S. Illinois is headed into Monday's match after beating the impressive 159.5-point over/under the oddsmakers set for their last game against Florida. S. Illinois suffered a painful 93-68 loss at the hands of Florida on Friday. The contest marked the Salukis' lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Despite the defeat, S. Illinois had strong showings from Jarrett Hensley, who went 5 for 9 en route to 14 points plus two steals, and Ali Dibba, who earned 17 points.

S. Illinois struggled to work together and finished the game with only seven assists. That's the fewest assists they've posted since back in January.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask La. Tech). They steamrolled past Mississippi College 105-67 on Monday. Winning may never get old, but the Bulldogs sure are getting used to it with their fourth in a row.

S. Illinois now has a losing record at 2-3. As for La. Tech, their win bumped their record up to 4-0.

Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. S. Illinois hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 76.2 points per game. However, it's not like La. Tech struggles in that department as they've been averaging 87.5. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.

S. Illinois is hoping to beat the odds on Monday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss.

Odds

La. Tech is a solid 5.5-point favorite against S. Illinois, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 5.5-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is 143.5 points.

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