Illinois State Redbirds vs Evansville Purple Aces Prediction, 2/9/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois State Redbirds vs Evansville Purple Aces

Date: Monday, February 9, 2026

Location: Ford Center in Evansville, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Evansville Purple Aces (5-18) host the Illinois State Redbirds (15-8) at Ford Center on Monday.

The Illinois State Redbirds faced Southern Illinois and ended up losing by a score of 54-50 in their last contest. In regard to personal fouls, the Redbirds ended up with 16 while Southern Illinois totaled 18 personal fouls. They also buried 1 of their 11 attempts from downtown. Southern Illinois ended up going 73.3% from the charity stripe by making 11 of their 15 attempts. Additionally, Southern Illinois pulled down 38 rebounds (5 offensive, 33 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Southern Illinois recorded 11 dimes and had 7 steals in the matchup. Pertaining to defense, Illinois State allowed 40.4% from the field on 21 out of 52 shooting. They also recorded 13 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 15 turnovers and getting 6 steals. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they collected 31 with 7 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Redbirds buried 6 of 10 shots for a rate of 60.0%. Illinois State wrapped up the contest with a 31.7% field goal percentage (19 out of 60) and converted 6 out of their 22 3-pointers.

Chase Walker is one player who was a factor in this contest. He racked up 12 points on 5 out of 13 shooting. He played 22 minutes played and grabbed 4 rebounds. He finished shooting 38.5% from the field and also totaled 1 assist.

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Illinois State enters this game with a mark of 15-8 this year. They have an average of 76.3 points per contest (184th in the country) while going 46.9% from the field. The Redbirds are connecting on 34.9% on shots from downtown (191 of 547) and 69.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, Illinois State is collecting 37.2 rebounds per contest and has tallied 310 assists on the season, which has them ranked 233rd in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.1 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.3 personal fouls every game.

On defense, the Redbirds are able to force 11.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.9 fouls. They surrender 30.7% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 24th in college in opponents PPG (66.4). The Redbirds defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 41.8% (538 of 1,288) and they surrender 32.3 rebounds per game as a unit. They are ranked 54th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 262 surrendered for the campaign.

The last time they took the court, the Evansville Purple Aces walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 84-63 when they played Indiana State. The Purple Aces earned 19 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 28 for this contest. They also turned the ball over 10 times, while getting 3 steals for the matchup. Indiana State committed 20 fouls in the matchup which got the Purple Aces to the free throw line for a total of 17 attempts. They were able to make 11 of them for a percentage of 64.7%. In regard to three-point shots, Evansville made 6 of their 22 tries (27.3%). When this game wrapped up, the Purple Aces finished the game shooting 23 for 54 from the field which gave them a rate of 42.6%. The Purple Aces permitted Indiana State to knock down 33 out of 60 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.0% for the contest. They shot 48.1% from three-point range by shooting 13 of 27 and finished the contest at 5 out of 9 at the charity stripe (55.6%). When talking about how they attacked the glass, Evansville allowed Indiana State to collect 33 overall (7 offensive).

Leif Moeller ended up having an impact for the Purple Aces for this contest. He converted 8 out of 14 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and accounted for 3 rebounds. He accumulated 22 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 4 assists in the game.

Evansville has a mark of 5-18 on the campaign. The Purple Aces are responsible for committing 16.7 personal fouls every game and they connect on 71.4% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.2 times per contest (252nd in college) and they turn it over 13.3 times per game. Evansville has tallied 1,541 pts so far this year (67.0 per game) and they grab 32.7 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Purple Aces are hitting on 42.6% from the field, which is ranked 309th in the country.

The Evansville defense allows 35.3% from downtown (195 of 553) and opponents are connecting on 72.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 14.6 assists and 35.5 boards per contest, which is ranked 272nd and 243rd in Division 1. The Purple Aces on defense are ranked 206th in college in PPG given up with 74.5. They have forced 11.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 45.3% from the floor (255th in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Evansville

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