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SIUE Cougars @ Little Rock Trojans

Current Records: SIUE 7-4, Little Rock 6-5

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SIUE has enjoyed a four-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They and the Little Rock Trojans will face off in an Ohio Valley battle at 8:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at Jack Stephens Center. The Cougars are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 75.8 points per game this season.

SIUE is headed into the contest following a big victory against Eureka on Sunday, something the oddsmakers some coming from a mile away. SIUE blew past Eureka, posting a 100-52 win. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matches by 19 points or more this season.

SIUE was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Eureka only posted ten.

Meanwhile, Little Rock fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against UIC on Sunday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 77-69 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Flames. While the oddsmakers failed to call the winner, they nailed the 145.5 point over/under.

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Johnathan Lawson, who scored 25 points in addition to eight rebounds. He had some trouble finding his footing against Illinois back in November, so this was a nice turnaround. Another player making a difference was Tuongthach Gatkek, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds.

SIUE is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-4 record this season. As for Little Rock, their loss ended an 11-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 6-5.

SIUE is hoping to beat the odds on Thursday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. Anyone thinking of taking them against the spread should keep this in mind: the team hasn't covered the last four times they've played Little Rock.

SIUE skirted past Little Rock 68-66 in their previous meeting back in February. The rematch might be a little tougher for SIUE since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.

Odds

Little Rock is a 4.5-point favorite against SIUE, 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 4.5-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is 138 points.

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Series History

Little Rock and SIUE both have 2 wins in their last 4 games.

  • Feb 01, 2024 - SIUE 68 vs. Little Rock 66
  • Jan 04, 2024 - Little Rock 88 vs. SIUE 80
  • Feb 23, 2023 - Little Rock 79 vs. SIUE 74
  • Feb 04, 2023 - SIUE 84 vs. Little Rock 81