Eastern Illinois Panthers vs SE Missouri State Redhawks Prediction, 1/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Illinois Panthers vs SE Missouri State Redhawks

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Location: Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, MO

TV: ESPN+

The SE Missouri State Redhawks (6-7) are welcoming the Eastern Illinois Panthers (4-8) at Show Me Center on Thursday.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers took the court against East-West and walked away with a win by a score of 110-56 in their last contest. Eastern Illinois ended with a 58.3% FG percentage (42 out of 72) and knocked down 8 of 24 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Panthers buried 18 of their 25 tries for a percentage of 72.0%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they earned 54 with 17 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 32 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 16 turnovers and getting 10 steals. When it comes to defending, Eastern Illinois allowed their opponent to shoot 29.0% from the field on 20 out of 69 shooting. East-West doled out 8 dimes and had 5 steals for the contest. Moreover, East-West collected 23 rebounds (10 offensive, 13 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. East-West shot 63.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 7 of their 11 attempts. They also buried 9 of 39 shots from beyond the arc. Concerning fouls, the Panthers ended up finishing with 13 and East-West finished the game with 18 fouls.

Andre Washington is a player who was a contributor in the matchup. He ended up with 24 points on 11 of 14 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 19 minutes played and also totaled 3 rebounds. He ended up going 78.6% from the floor and totaled 3 dimes.

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Eastern Illinois comes into this game with a mark of 4-8 this season. They turn it over 14.1 times per game and as a group they are committing 15.7 fouls every game. As a unit, Eastern Illinois is snagging 32.8 rebounds per game and is sitting with 154 dimes so far this year, which ranks 316th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Panthers are shooting 29.7% on shots from distance (63 of 212) and 74.4% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 66.3 pts per game (343rd in the nation) while hitting 43.1% from the field.

Defensively, the Panthers are forcing their opponents into 12.4 turnovers per game while drawing 15.6 personal fouls. They are 250th in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 183 surrendered for the year. The Panthers defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 44.8% (319 of 712) and they relinquish 36.2 boards per contest as a squad. They surrender 30.1% on 3-point attempts and they are 217th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (74.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the SE Missouri State Redhawks went home victorious with a score of 91-82 against Tennessee State. With respect to rebounding, SE Missouri State permitted Tennessee State to pull down 25 in all (7 on the offensive side). They shot 40.0% from 3-point land by going 6 of 15 and finished the contest at 26 out of 36 at the free throw line (72.2%). The Redhawks permitted Tennessee State to make 25 of their 59 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.4% for the contest. When the game finished, the Redhawks walked away from this one shooting 30 out of 52 from the field which had them shooting 57.7%. In terms of 3-pointers, SE Missouri State converted 9 of their 20 tries (45.0%). They were able to bury 22 of those for a percentage of 75.9%. Tennessee State earned 21 fouls for the contest which got the Redhawks to the free throw line for 29 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 18 times, while recording 4 steals in this matchup. The Redhawks snagged 29 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 37 in this game.

Marqueas Bell ended up being a factor for the Redhawks for the matchup. He buried 8 of 9 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 88.9%, and accumulated 12 rebounds. He totaled 22 points in his 36 mins on the hardwood and added 3 assists in the game.

SE Missouri State has a mark of 6-7 so far this year. When it comes to offense, the Redhawks are hitting on 46.3% from the floor, which has them ranked 148th in college hoops. SE Missouri State has 1,028 pts this season (79.1 per contest) and they grab 34.5 boards per game. They are getting an assist 13.5 times per contest (257th in Division 1) and they are turning it over 13.0 times per game. The Redhawks have committed 20.4 fouls per contest and they hit 71.5% from the free throw line.

The SE Missouri State defense concedes 34.4% from downtown (86 of 250) and opponents are knocking down 75.0% of their free throw attempts. They concede 11.0 dimes and 32.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 43rd and 103rd in college hoops. The Redhawks on the defensive end are ranked 268th in college in points allowed per contest with 76.8. They are forcing their opponents into 15.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 45.9% from the floor (294th in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take SE Missouri State and under the total points

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