The No. 19 Louisville Cardinals (2-0) will be at home in KFC Yum! Center when they challenge the Southern Illinois Salukis (2-0). Louisville is a 16.5-point favorite on the opening line, while the Over/Under (O/U) for the game opened at 141.5 points. Action begins at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 21, 2017, and it can be seen on ESPN Full Court.
Southern Illinois Salukis at Louisville Cardinals ATS Preview
In the Salukis last matchup, they defeated the Illinois-Springfield Prairie Stars, 69-64. Aaron Cook was Southern Illinois high scorer with 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Southern Illinois played a nearly perfect game. They had a superb free throw rate of 0.302 and an offensive rebounding percentage of 23.7. For those same stats, Illinois-Springfield was 0.169 and 21.1, respectively.
The Cardinals hope to maintain momentum after defeating the Omaha Mavericks in their last outing, 87-78. Louisvilles Raymond Spalding had a solid performance, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Louisville played a nearly perfect game. They had a free throw rate of 0.275 and an offensive rebounding percentage of 48.6. For those same stats, Omaha was 0.081 and 38.6, respectively.
Louisville could have their way on defense as they face off against one of the NCAAs worst offenses. The Cardinals rank 15th in effective field goal percentage allowed (0.456), while Southern Illinois is 285th in effective field goal percentage (0.484) dating back to last season.
The Salukis have had records of 19-16 straight up (SU) and 15-14 against the spread (ATS) since last season. Vegas has been fairly accurate when predicting totals of Southern Illinois games since last season with 15 unders compared to 14 overs.
The Cardinals, on the other hand, have records of 26-8 SU and 18-15-1 ATS since last season. Vegas has been fairly accurate when setting the O/U total of Louisville games over that same time frame with 18 unders compared to 16 overs.
The Cardinals won the lone game against the Salukis last season, 74-51. The Cardinals dominated every stat category in the game. They had a fantastic offensive rebounding percentage of 33.3 and a great free throw rate of 0.271. The Salukis had marks of 14.3 and 0.148, respectively, for those same stats.
Southern Illinois Salukis vs. Louisville Cardinals Betting Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Louisville, ATS Winner – Southern Illinois, O/U – Under
Betting Notes (2016-Present):
- The Cardinals rank 221st in three pointers attempted per game (19.6) while the Salukis rank 299th (16.9).
- Louisville is 42nd in the NCAA with 5.2 steals allowed per game while Southern Illinois is 51st with 5.3 steals allowed per game.
- Louisville ranks 19th in rebounds per game (39.8) while Southern Illinois ranks 236th (34.1).
- The Cardinals rank sixth in blocks per game (5.7) while the Salukis rank 139th in blocks allowed per game (3.4).
- Louisville ranks 163rd in assists per game (13.5) while Southern Illinois ranks 274th (11.5).
