Who’s Playing
Illinois State Redbirds @ McNeese Cowboys
Current Records: Illinois State 3-1, McNeese 2-2
How To Watch
What to Know
The Illinois State Redbirds will face off against the McNeese Cowboys at 3:00 p.m. ET on Friday at Virgin Islands Sport & Fitness Center. The Redbirds have been getting the ball to fall more lately as they’ve increased their point totals each of their last three games.
Illinois State is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Trinity (Ill.), posting a 107-52 victory. With the Redbirds ahead 44-23 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Illinois State was working as a unit and finished the game with 26 assists. That’s the most assists they’ve posted since the start of last season.
Meanwhile, there’s no place like home for McNeese, who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Monday. They walked away with a 68-61 win over North Texas on Monday. The over/under was set at 129 points, so nice work oddsmakers; you were right on the money.
McNeese relied on the efforts of Joe Charles, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds, and Sincere Parker, who posted 18 points. Charles had some trouble finding his footing against Alabama last Monday, so this was a step in the right direction.
Illinois State’s victory bumped their record up to 3-1. As for McNeese, their win was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 2-2.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Illinois State hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 83.5 points per game. However, it’s not like McNeese struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 79. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
