Halftime Report

A win for McNeese would push their record over .500, and after one quarter of play they've put themselves in a good position to make it happen. They have jumped out to a quick 43-36 lead against Illinois State.

McNeese has yet to string together two consecutive wins, but this may be their chance. For now, things are looking good for them.

Who's Playing

Illinois State Redbirds @ McNeese Cowboys

Current Records: Illinois State 3-1, McNeese 2-2

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What to Know

The Illinois State Redbirds will take on the McNeese Cowboys at 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday at Virgin Islands Sport & Fitness Center. The Redbirds have been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.

Illinois State is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They steamrolled past Trinity (Ill.) 107-52 on Sunday. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 44-23.

Illinois State was working as a unit and finished the game with 26 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since the start of last season.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for McNeese, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Monday. They came out on top against North Texas by a score of 68-61 on Monday. The over/under was set at 129 points, so nice work oddsmakers; you were right on the money.

Joe Charles and Sincere Parker were among the main playmakers for McNeese as the former almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds and the latter posted 18 points. Charles had some trouble finding his footing against Alabama last Monday, so this was a nice turnaround.

Illinois State's win bumped their record up to 3-1. As for McNeese, their victory was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-2.

Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Illinois State hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 83.5 points per game. However, it's not like McNeese struggles in that department as they've been averaging 79. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.

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

Odds

McNeese is a big 10.5-point favorite against Illinois State, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The line has drifted a bit towards the Cowboys, as the game opened with the Cowboys as a 8.5-point favorite.


The over/under is 137 points.

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