Indiana State Sycamores vs Southern Illinois Salukis Prediction, 2/25/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Indiana State Sycamores vs Southern Illinois Salukis

Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Location: Banterra Center in Carbondale, IL

TV: ESPN+

Banterra Center is the site where the Southern Illinois Salukis (14-15) will take on the Indiana State Sycamores (10-19) on Wednesday.

The Indiana State Sycamores faced off with Belmont and ended up losing by a score of 87-70 in their last contest. Indiana State ended the game having earned a 43.5% field goal percentage (27 of 62) and buried 9 out of their 30 three-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Sycamores knocked down 7 of their 8 tries for a rate of 87.5%. In terms of getting rebounds, they compiled 28 with 5 of them being offensive. They also distributed 17 assists in the game in addition to forcing 9 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Concerning the defense, Indiana State allowed the other team to shoot 50.8% from the floor on 33 out of 65 shooting. Belmont totaled 17 dimes and had 11 steals in this matchup. In addition, Belmont grabbed 31 rebounds (6 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Belmont shot 86.7% from the free throw line by burying 13 of 15 tries. They also made 8 out of their 31 tries from long range. In regard to fouls, the Sycamores finished with 12 while Belmont racked up 12 fouls.

Ian Scott is a player who was a major factor for the contest. He ended up going 72.7% from the field and also totaled 2 assists. He was on the court for 36 mins and also collected 11 rebounds. He accumulated 16 points on 8 of 11 shooting.

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Indiana State will enter this game with a win-loss record of 10-19 for the year. They average 74.4 pts per game (226th in the country) while connecting on 46.5% from the field. The Sycamores are hitting 31.5% on three-point attempts (239 of 758) and 67.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Indiana State is snagging 35.1 rebounds per contest and has 511 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 12th in college in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 13.4 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.9 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Sycamores are able to force 10.8 turnovers per game and they draw 15.6 personal fouls. They are giving up 32.5% from beyond the arc and they rank 233rd in college hoops in opponents points per game (75.6). The Sycamores are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 45.3% (822 of 1,814) and they concede 35.9 boards per contest as a team. They are 121st in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 355 relinquished for the campaign.

In their last game, the Southern Illinois Salukis took home the win by a final score of 59-57 when they faced UNI. The Salukis were able to snag 18 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 27 in the game. They also coughed up the ball 16 times, while recording 8 steals in this matchup. UNI earned 11 fouls for this contest which took the Salukis to the charity stripe for 3 attempts. They were able to knock down 1 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 33.3%. Pertaining to shots from 3-point land, Southern Illinois made 6 of 16 attempts (37.5%). When all was said and done, the Salukis walked away from this one shooting 26 for 51 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.0%. The Salukis permitted UNI to convert 23 of 52 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.2% for the matchup. They finished the game shooting 23.5% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 4 of 17 and finished the game at 7 out of 9 from the free throw line (77.8%). With respect to how they cleaned up the glass, Southern Illinois allowed UNI to collect 20 in all (7 on the offensive side).

Quel'Ron House ended up being a major contributor for the Salukis for the matchup. He earned 21 points in his 39 mins of playing time and had 5 assists in the matchup. He made 10 out of 17 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 58.8%, and totaled 4 rebounds.

Southern Illinois has a mark of 14-15 so far this season. The Salukis are committing 17.6 personal fouls per game while shooting 67.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.6 times per contest (211th in college) and they turn it over 12.4 times per game. Southern Illinois has accumulated 2,126 points so far this year (73.3 per game) and they pull in 37.8 rebounds per contest. As an offensive team, the Salukis are connecting on 45.6% from the field, which is ranked 161st in the nation.

The Southern Illinois defense surrenders 30.3% on 3-pointers (211 of 696) and opponents are connecting on 68.9% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 12.8 assists and 35.3 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 131st and 239th in Division 1. The Salukis on the defensive side of the court are 80th in college in points given up per game with 70.2. They are able to force 13.3 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.4% from the field (83rd in the country).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Southern Illinois

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