Western Illinois Leathernecks vs Eastern Illinois Panthers Prediction, 12/12/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Western Illinois Leathernecks vs Eastern Illinois Panthers

Date: Saturday, December 12, 2020

Location: Lantz Arena in Charleston, IL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Western Illinois (+14)

Lantz Arena is the site where and the Eastern Illinois Panthers (2-4) will take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-3) on Saturday. Western Illinois opens this contest as 14-point dogs. The total has been set at 142.

Western Illinois enters this game with a mark of 1-3 this season. They have an average of 67.0 points per game (237th in the country) while hitting 39.0% from the field. The Leathernecks are hitting 26.5% on 3-pointers (26 of 98) and 49.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Western Illinois is pulling down 41.8 rebounds per game and has accumulated 60 assists so far this year, which is 134th in the country in terms of passing. They turn it over 14.3 times per contest and as a group are committing 20.0 personal fouls per contest. On the defensive end, the Leathernecks are able to force 12.8 turnovers every game while drawing 18.0 personal fouls. The Leathernecks defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 43.9% (107 of 244) and they surrender 40.8 boards per contest as a squad. They rank 223rd in the country in giving up assists with 62 surrendered this season. They concede 33.8% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 223rd in D-1 in points per game allowed (75.0).

The Western Illinois Leathernecks stepped onto the hardwood against the Mount St. Joseph Lions and walked away with a win by a score of 80-55 in their last contest. Western Illinois finished the contest having earned a 49.2% FG percentage (32 of 65) and made 6 of their 22 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Leathernecks buried 10 of 15 attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. Regarding pulling down rebounds, they earned a total of 44 with 19 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 13 assists for this contest while getting 8 steals and 7 rejections. In regard to defending, Western Illinois allowed 49.2% from the floor on 32 of 65. Mount St. Joseph distributed 10 assists and 9 steals in the matchup. In addition, the Lions collected 20 rebounds (5 offensive, 15 defensive) and added 7 blocks. Mount St. Joseph finished 75.0% from the charity stripe by making 9 of their 12 attempts. They also buried 6 of their 16 tries from 3-point range.

Tamell Pearson is someone who played a lot in the game. He ended up walking away with 14 points on 7 out of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 25 mins and collected 16 boards. Pearson finished 46.7% from the floor and also recorded 3 assists. An additional guy that saw the court a lot in the matchup for the Leathernecks was Rod Johnson. He pulled down 3 rebounds and also earned 3 dimes. He ended up shooting 66.7% from the field for the game by going 4-of-6 (10 points). At the conclusion of this game, Johnson was on the hardwood for 28 min.

Eastern Illinois has a win-loss mark of 2-4 this season. Eastern Illinois has accounted for 416 pts this season (69.3 per game) and they collect 34.5 rebounds per game. The Panthers are committing 17.7 fouls every game and they shoot 68.0% from the charity stripe. When it comes to offense, the Panthers are connecting on 41.3% from the floor, which ranks 274th in college basketball. They are earning an assist 11.0 times per game (267th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 11.8 times per contest. The Panthers are ranked 192nd in the country in points allowed per contest with 72.2. They are able to force 12.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 46.0% from the field (251st in Division 1). The Eastern Illinois defense allows 42.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (52 of 123) and opponents are knocking down 70.2% of their foul shots. They allow 14.8 dimes and 34.2 boards per game, which has them ranked 232nd and 119th in those defensive categories.

In their last game, the Eastern Illinois Panthers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 68-65 when they faced the Evansville Purple Aces. The Panthers were able to corral 21 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds totaling 24 for this contest. They turned away 2 shots while recording 5 steals for the matchup. The Purple Aces were called for 12 fouls for the matchup which took the Panthers to the charity stripe for a total of 11 attempts. They were able to make 6 of them for a rate of 54.5%. In regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Eastern Illinois converted 11 of their 18 tries (61.1%). At the conclusion of this game, the Panthers shot 24 for 52 from the floor which had them sitting at 46.2%. The Panthers permitted the Purple Aces to convert 23 out of their 47 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 48.9% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 45.0% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 9 of 20 and finished the game at 13 of 17 at the free throw line (76.5%). When talking about rebounding, Eastern Illinois allowed Evansville to collect 26 in all (2 on the offensive glass).

Mack Smith ended up having an impact for the Panthers in this matchup. He converted 4 of 7 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 57.1%, which gave him 12 points. Smith had 3 boards in his 32 minutes and tallied 4 dimes in this contest. Someone else that ended up playing a role for Eastern Illinois was Josiah Wallace. He walked away with 17 points in his 29 minutes on the hardwood via 6 out of 13 shooting for this game. Wallace walked away from this one going 46.2% from the floor as well as collecting 2 assists and 2 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Eastern Illinois (-14)

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