Western Illinois vs Eastern Illinois 12/18/21 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Eastern Illinois Panthers and Western Illinois Leathernecks meet Saturday in college basketball action at the LeRoy A. Ufkes Court. The Eastern Illinois Panthers need a win after losing six of their last seven games. The Western Illinois Leathernecks look to build on their four-game winning streak.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers are averaging 67.7 points on 39.2 percent shooting and allowing 70.2 points on 42.5 percent shooting. Kashawn Charles is averaging 10.4 points and 1 assist, while Kejuan Clements is averaging 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds. Sammy Friday IV is dishing 0.1 assists and Jermaine Hamlin is grabbing 3.4 rebounds. The Eastern Illinois Panthers are shooting 31.6 percent from beyond the arc and 64.6 percent from the free throw line. The Eastern Illinois Panthers are allowing 33.1 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 29.6 rebounds per game.

The Western Illinois Leathernecks are averaging 83 points on 44.7 percent shooting and allowing 71.8 points on 43 percent shooting. Will Carius is averaging 17.3 points and 3.4 rebounds, while Colton Sandage is averaging 16 points and 3 rebounds. Luka Barisic is the third double-digit scorer and Trenton Massner is dishing 4 assists. The Western Illinois Leathernecks are shooting 39.8 percent from beyond the arc and 67.8 percent from the free throw line. The Western Illinois Leathernecks are allowing 36.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 36.4 rebounds per game.

The Panthers are 9-23 ATS in their last 32 road games and 18-39 ATS in their last 57 games overall. The Leathernecks are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 home games and 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games overall. The under is 9-1-1 in Panthers last 11 overall. The over is 7-3 in Leathernecks last 10 Saturday games. The road team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers have major offensive issues, and they’re not covering numbers, so they’re not a team I’m running to the window to back. The Western Illinois Leathernecks have a clear edge offensively here, they’ll have the best player on the floor here, and they’ve had covering success this season. Thick number, but it’s Western Illinois or pass for me.