Southern Illinois Salukis vs Murray State Racers Prediction, 12/29/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Southern Illinois Salukis vs Murray State Racers

Date: Monday, December 29, 2025

Location: CFSB Center in Murray, KY

TV: ESPN+

The Murray State Racers (10-3) will go up against the Southern Illinois Salukis (6-7) at CFSB Center on Monday.

The Southern Illinois Salukis faced off with Bradley and took a loss by a final of 73-69 in their last contest. Southern Illinois wrapped up the contest with a 44.3% FG percentage (27 out of 61) and made 3 out of their 19 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Salukis made 12 of 18 attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. Regarding getting rebounds, they earned 31 with 7 of them being offensive. They also distributed 11 assists in the matchup as well as creating 14 turnovers and getting 9 steals. With regard to defense, Southern Illinois allowed the other team to go 41.4% from the field on 24 out of 58 shooting. Bradley doled out 16 dimes and had 8 steals in the game. In addition, Bradley grabbed 33 boards (10 offensive, 23 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Bradley went 90.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 18 of their 20 attempts. They converted 7 out of their 16 attempts from 3-point range. When talking about fouls, the Salukis ended up walking away with 21 and Bradley totaled 17 fouls.

Damien Mayo Jr. is one guy who was a major contributor for the contest. He finished with 18 points on 7 out of 14 shooting. He saw the court for 31 mins played and also totaled 5 boards. He ended up shooting 50.0% from the field and totaled 1 assist.

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Southern Illinois comes into this game with a win-loss record of 6-7 on the year. They are averaging 78.8 points per outing (152nd in the nation) while connecting on 48.7% from the floor. The Salukis are shooting 27.4% on three-point shots (60 of 219) and 67.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Southern Illinois is pulling down 39.3 boards per game and has 192 dimes this year, which has them ranked 146th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 13.1 times per contest and as a unit are committing 18.0 personal fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Salukis are forcing their opponents into 13.6 turnovers per game and they draw 18.8 fouls. They rank 253rd in college hoops in giving up assists with 181 relinquished this year. The Salukis defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 42.1% (338 of 803) and they concede 35.0 rebounds per game as a team. They surrender 32.1% on 3-point shots and they are 187th in D-1 in points per game allowed (73.5).

The last time they took the court, the Murray State Racers walked away with a victory by a final of 85-79 against Valparaiso. The Racers pulled down 24 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 33 for the matchup. They also turned it over 11 times, while getting 5 steals in this game. Valparaiso was called for 24 fouls in this contest which took the Racers to the charity stripe for a total of 28 shots. They were able to knock down 23 of those for a clip of 82.1%. In reference to 3-point attempts, Murray State buried 6 out of 18 attempts (33.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Racers ended up going 28 for 57 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.1%. The Racers allowed Valparaiso to knock down 31 of their 65 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.7% in this matchup. They finished the game shooting 38.9% from beyond the perimeter by going 7 out of 18 and finished the game at 10 of 15 at the free throw line (66.7%). Regarding how they cleaned up the glass, Murray State permitted Valparaiso to collect 31 in all (8 on the offensive side).

Roman Domon ended up being a factor for the Racers in this matchup. He converted 4 of 5 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 80.0%, and tallied 3 rebounds. He scored 20 points in his 23 minutes on the court and had 1 assist for the matchup.

Murray State has a mark of 10-3 for the campaign. The Racers have committed 18.9 personal fouls every game while shooting 75.7% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 15.8 times per game (110th in D-1) and they lose possession via turnover 12.2 times per contest. Murray State has accounted for 1,161 points so far this year (89.3 per game) and they snag 38.6 boards per game. As an offense, the Racers are connecting on 48.1% from the floor, which is ranked 74th in the country.

The Murray State defense allows 32.4% on 3-point shots (69 of 213) and their opponents are knocking down 73.2% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 12.3 assists and 34.5 rebounds per game, which ranks them 104th and 187th in those categories on the defensive end. The Racers on the defensive side of the court are 293rd in D-1 in points allowed per game with 78.1. They are able to force 12.1 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.0% from the floor (263rd in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Murray State

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