The Bears will try to cover the spread at Scottrade Center on Friday when they get a visit from the Southern Illinois Salukis in college basketball action.

It's a game in the Missouri Valley Tournament, which will decide the conference title, not to mention deciding which teams make the Field of 68. This game is being played at a neutral-site court (Scottrade Center).

The Bears bring a 23-7 record (13-13-1 ATS) to this tilt against the 13-18 Salukis, who are 6-20 ATS. OVER/UNDER bettors have witnessed Missouri State go 14-11 so far and the Salukis go 12-14.



View Southern Illinois vs Missouri State Odds and Stats.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
It's a betting matchup between the No. 135-rated Bears and the No. 271-ranked Salukis, according to the latest pro hoops power rankings here at Odds Shark. Prediction formulas run on this game indicate a possible 72-61 result in favor of the Bears.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Missouri State's No. 133 nationally ranked offense (70.3 points per game) against a Salukis defense that sits as the No. 92 at 65.2 PPG. The Bears have been averaging 46.6% from the field, more than the Salukis have managed so far this season (42.4% on average).

Comparing how these foes stack up statistically, Southern Illinois owns the country's No. 56-rated mark, allowing 65.8 points per game on the highway. Missouri State, on the other hand, rates No. 127 in scoring at home.

Southern Illinois was a 57-54 Sportsbook in their most recent outing at home against Illinois State. They covered the 1–point spread as favorites. Southern Illinois got 13 points from Justin Bocot en route to a 57-54 victory over Illinois State on Thursday at Scottrade Center.

In their last action, Missouri State was a 69-64 Sportsbook at home against Wichita State. They covered the 1–point spread as favorites. Jermaine Mallett scored 18 points leading the Bears to a 69-64 victory over Wichita State at JQH Arena on Saturday.


Southern Illinois Salukis Trends:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
After playing Illinois State are 6-4
After a win are 2-8

Missouri State Bears Trends:
When playing on Friday are 8-2
After playing Wichita State are 4-6
After a win are 7-3

A few Salukis at Bears trends to consider:
Missouri State is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Missouri State's last 13 games
Missouri State is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games