Southern Illinois Salukis vs Valparaiso Beacons Prediction, 1/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Southern Illinois Salukis vs Valparaiso Beacons

Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Location: Athletics-Recreation Center in Valparaiso, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Valparaiso Beacons (9-10) will go up against the Southern Illinois Salukis (8-11) at Athletics-Recreation Center on Wednesday.

The Southern Illinois Salukis stepped onto the hardwood against Belmont and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 73-68 in their last contest. Southern Illinois wrapped up the contest having earned a 36.2% FG percentage (21 out of 58) and converted 9 of their 25 three-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Salukis made 17 of 20 shots for a percentage of 85.0%. When talking about rebounding, they earned 36 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 15 assists for the game while forcing 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With respect to defending, Southern Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 41.9% from the floor on 26 of 62 shooting. Belmont doled out 12 assists and had 7 steals for the contest. On top of that, Belmont collected 37 rebounds (11 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Belmont ended up going 69.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 16 of 23 shots. They buried 5 of their 25 attempts from beyond the arc. Regarding personal fouls, the Salukis ended up with 18 while Belmont had 18 personal fouls.

Drew Steffe is a player who was a factor for the matchup. He was able to score 24 points on 6 out of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 33 mins and collected 1 board. He shot 40.0% from the floor and also earned 4 dimes.

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Southern Illinois steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss mark of 8-11 for the season. They cough up possession 12.9 times per game and as a team they commit 18.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Southern Illinois is pulling in 38.8 rebounds per game and has accounted for 268 dimes for the season, which ranks 170th in the country in terms of passing. The Salukis are shooting 28.1% on 3-pointers (94 of 335) and 67.0% from the free throw line. They have an average of 76.1 points per contest (205th in Division 1) while connecting on 46.5% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Salukis are able to force 13.1 turnovers every game while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They rank 253rd in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 264 conceded on the season. The Salukis defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 42.3% (491 of 1,160) and they concede 36.2 rebounds per game as a group. They are relinquishing 30.4% from 3-point land while they are 180th in the nation in points per game allowed (73.5).

When they last stepped on the court, the Valparaiso Beacons went home victorious with a score of 54-44 when they played UNI. The Beacons corralled 30 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 35 for the contest. They coughed up the ball 6 times, while earning 7 steals in the matchup. UNI was called for 18 fouls in the matchup which got the Beacons to the charity stripe for 20 attempts. They were able to convert 15 of those for a percentage of 75.0%. When talking about shooting from distance, Valparaiso buried 5 of 19 attempts (26.3%). Overall, the Beacons shot 17 out of 51 from the floor which had them shooting 33.3%. The Beacons permitted UNI to convert 19 of their 57 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 33.3% in the matchup. They finished the game shooting 20.0% from 3-point land by going 4 of 20 and ended up shooting 2 of 7 from the free throw line (28.6%). In regard to team rebounding, Valparaiso allowed UNI to pull down 29 in total (8 on the offensive side).

Owen Dease was important for the Beacons for this game. He scored 20 points in his 34 minutes on the court and accumulated 1 assist for the contest. He buried 6 out of 15 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 40.0%, and accounted for 7 rebounds.

Valparaiso has a win-loss mark of 9-10 this year. The Beacons are committing 18.1 fouls every game and they shoot 72.3% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 11.4 times per contest (337th in college) and they lose possession via turnover 10.8 times per game. Valparaiso has scored 1,348 points for the season (70.9 per contest) and they collect 37.3 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Beacons are shooting 40.7% from the floor, which ranks them 343rd in college.

The Valparaiso defense gives up 30.8% on 3-point shots (120 of 389) and their opponents are making 71.4% of their foul shots. They have given up 11.4 assists and 36.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 43rd and 286th in the nation. The Beacons on defense are ranked 92nd in college in points allowed per contest with 70.1. They are able to force 11.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.9% from the field (145th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Southern Illinois

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