Tennessee State vs SIU Edwardsville Picks and Odds
- SIU-Edwardsville is a 2.5-point home favorite over Tennessee State on Thursday in Ohio Valley Conference play
- SIU-Edwardsville beat Tennessee State 67-65 on the road last month
- The odds, lines, spread and analysis for this game can be found below
Tennessee State vs SIU-Edwardsville Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee State | +132 | +2.5 (-105) | Over 132.5 (-110) |
| SIU-Edwardsville | -156 | -2.5 (-115) | Under 132.5 (-110) |
Odds taken Feb. 3 from FanDuel
SIUE Has Killer Sked
SIUE will be playing for an NBA-like third time in four days Thursday. The jammed scheduled is the result of postponements related to COVID-19.
SIUE has yet to post a winning record or win more than 12 games in a season since moving from Division II to Division I prior to the 2008-09 season.
The back-to-back losses have put a dent in SIUE’s bid to finish over .500 and the home loss to lowly Eastern Illinois was particularly demoralizing. The Cougars shot just 38.6% overall from the floor and hit on just 23.1% of their 3-point attempts.
That’s 16 games in the next 30 days. Not sure whose idea this was in the OVC, but it’s not a good one … https://t.co/yCEeR9ag3F
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) January 28, 2021
Sophomore guard Shamar Wright and junior guard Carlos Curtis provided bright spots in defeat. Wright scored a game-high 13 points while Curtis came off the bench to provide 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
In the previous three games, Wright had scored a combined 12 points and Curtis scored 11 points. Wright is the son of Lorenzen Wright, who was a center in the NBA for 13 seasons from 1997-2009.
Junior forward Sidney Wilson added 12 points. The transfer from UConn leads SIUE in scoring with an average of 13.8 points a game and has reached double figures in five straight games.
OVC Men's Basketball 🏀 Newcomer of the Week: @SIUEMBB F Sidney Wilson (@Iam_SidWilson)
• In 3 road games averaged 18.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.3 apg & 1.3 bpg while hitting 50 percent from the field; had a career-best 23 points against SEMO#FindAWay pic.twitter.com/luadFyP9aJ
— OhioValleyConference (@OVCSports) February 1, 2021
Senior guard Mike Adewunmi has averages of 12.5 points and 6.7 rebounds and is the only other SIUE player scoring in double digits. Sophomore forward Lamar Wright, Shamar’s brother, has a 9.6 block rate that ranks 30th in the nation.
Another Loss For TSU
Tennessee State’s disappointing season continued Saturday when it lost at Austin Peay 71-56. The Tigers, who were 10-point underdogs, got blown out early as they trailed 44-16 at halftime.
Senior guard Ravel Moody and sophomore guard Mark Freeman scored 16 points each. Moody was two points off his season high while Freeman raised his team-leading scoring average to 14.7 points.
Freeman and Moody also have passing ability.
Freeman ➡️Womack ➡️Moody ➡️Linder ➡️SLAM#DeserveToWin pic.twitter.com/Ix7UTTWMmt
— TSU Men's Basketball (@TSUTigersMBB) January 30, 2021
Freeman has more than doubled his 6.5 scoring average of last season while also averaging 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals. He has scored in double figures in 11 of his 13 games.
Freshman guard Amorey Womack finished with a career-high 12 points.
Another freshman guard, Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., is having a fine season with a 12.7 scoring average. He was considered the top point guard recruit in Tennessee last winter when he made the all-state team during his senior year at Nashville’s Pearl-Cohn High School.
The Tiger Tapes | Episode 2
Marcus Fitzgerald Jr.#BigBlueRising pic.twitter.com/BVCr8Nvfdf— TSU Men's Basketball (@TSUTigersMBB) May 12, 2020
Tennessee State ranks 351st among Division I’s 357 teams in adjusted offensive efficiency according to KenPom. However, the Tigers are 148th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
SIUE Looks for Sweep
SIUE edged Tennessee State 67-65 as a 3.5-point road underdog on Jan. 21.
Adewunmi led the winners with 18 points and eight rebounds and Shamar Wright added 14 points and nine rebounds. In a losing effort, Fitzgerald poured in a career-high 32 points and junior forward Yusef Mohammed also reached a career best in scoring with 18.
Neither team enters this game with any momentum, so let’s give the lean to the home team.
Pick: SIU-Edwardsville -2.5 (-115)
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
