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N. Illinois Huskies @ Valparaiso Beacons

Current Records: N. Illinois 2-4, Valparaiso 3-2

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What to Know

The Valparaiso Beacons' homestand will continue as they prepare to take on the N. Illinois Huskies at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Athletics-Recreation Center. The Beacons are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 79.8 points per game this season.

Last Sunday, everything came up roses for Valparaiso against Eastern Illinois as the team secured an 81-53 victory.

Valparaiso can attribute much of their success to Tyler Schmidt, who posted 19 points in addition to three steals. Schmidt had some trouble finding his footing against Lindenwood on Thursday, so this was a step in the right direction. Another player making a difference was Justus McNair, who went 5 for 8 en route to 16 points.

Valparaiso was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Eastern Illinois only posted seven.

Meanwhile, N. Illinois' recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their third straight loss. They were dealt a punishing 98-52 defeat at the hands of DePaul. The Huskies were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 51-15.

N. Illinois' loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Dominic Gooden, who posted ten points plus five rebounds and two steals, and Quentin Jones, who scored 16 points plus six rebounds. Gooden's performance made up for a slower contest against Elon on Wednesday. Less helpful for N. Illinois was James Dent Jr.'s abysmal 0-5 three-point shooting.

Valparaiso now has a winning record of 3-2. As for N. Illinois, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-4.

Going forward, Valparaiso is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by ten points. This contest will be their fifth straight at home (so far over this stretch they are 2-1 against the spread).

Odds

Valparaiso is a big 10-point favorite against N. 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 10-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is 141 points.

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