Who’s Playing
Illinois State Redbirds @ Evansville Aces
Current Records: Illinois State 10-5, Evansville 5-10
How To Watch
What to Know
We’ve got another exciting Missouri Valley matchup on schedule as the Illinois State Redbirds and the Evansville Aces are set to tip at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Ford Center. The Redbirds are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 79.1 points per game this season.
Illinois State will bounce into Wednesday’s matchup after (finally) beating S. Illinois, who they had gone 2-8 against in their ten prior meetings. Illinois State blew past S. Illinois, posting an 85-54 victory. With the Redbirds ahead 44-23 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Illinois State’s success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Johnny Kinziger led the charge by going 6 for 7 en route to 17 points. The dominant performance also gave Kinziger a new career-high in three-point shooting accuracy (75%). Jordan Davis was another key player, dropping a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds.
Illinois State was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as S. Illinois only posted ten.
Meanwhile, Evansville was within striking distance but couldn’t close the gap on Saturday as they fell 66-62 to Indiana State. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for the Aces in their matchups with the Sycamores: they’ve now lost seven in a row.
Despite their defeat, Evansville saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Tayshawn Comer, who earned 24 points in addition to seven assists and two steals, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Joshua Hughes, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds.
Illinois State is on a roll lately: they’ve won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-5 record this season. As for Evansville, their loss dropped their record down to 5-10.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Illinois State just can’t miss this season, having made 49.8% of their field goals per game. It’s a different story for Evansville, though, as they’ve only made 41.7% of their field goals this season. Given Illinois State’s sizable advantage in that area, Evansville will need to find a way to close that gap.
Illinois State came up short against Evansville in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, falling 59-53. Can Illinois State avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We’ll find out soon enough.
Series History
Illinois State has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Evansville.
- Mar 07, 2024 – Evansville 59 vs. Illinois State 53
- Feb 18, 2024 – Illinois State 86 vs. Evansville 79
- Jan 27, 2024 – Evansville 58 vs. Illinois State 54
- Feb 26, 2023 – Illinois State 72 vs. Evansville 53
- Jan 07, 2023 – Illinois State 69 vs. Evansville 61
- Jan 23, 2022 – Evansville 56 vs. Illinois State 53
- Jan 21, 2022 – Illinois State 94 vs. Evansville 56
- Jan 10, 2021 – Illinois State 73 vs. Evansville 68
- Jan 09, 2021 – Evansville 57 vs. Illinois State 48
- Feb 29, 2020 – Illinois State 71 vs. Evansville 60
