Las Vegas Basketball Prediction: Murray State vs SIU Edwardsville

Saturday, January 21, 2012

by Joe Rodriguez

Isaiah Canaan - Las Vegas Basketball Prediction: Murray State vs SIU Edwardsville

Murray State Racers, coming off a comeback victory at rival Morehead State on Wednesday, looks to remain undefeated when it travels to battle Ohio Valley Conference newcomer SIU Edwardsville Cougars.

The No. 10 Racers, along with No. 1 Syracuse, are the only unbeaten teams in Division I.

Murray State rallied from a nine-point deficit at Morehead State to pull out a 66-60 victory, while SIUE, which has dropped three straight, will host its first ranked opponent as a Division I member.

- Murray State Racers @ SIU Edwardsville Cougars
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 21, 2012
Where: Sam M. Vadalabene Center, Edwardsville, Illinois
TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Check Live NCAA Basketball Odds on Justbet Sportsbook .

Justbet Sportsbook currently have the Racers listed as 17½-point favorites versus the Cougars.

Murray State Racers (19-0): The Racers faced their second largest second-half deficit of the season Wednesday before rallying from nine down to win at Morehead State for the first time since 2008. Earlier this season, Murray State trailed at UAB by 12 with 11 minutes remaining. Isaiah Canaan notched his third 20-plus point effort in the last four games with 20 points Wednesday while reigning OVC Player of the Week Donte Poole scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half to fuel the comeback. Poole leads the Racers in scoring in OVC games (17.4) and Canaan right behind at 17.3, while Canaan is averaging 18.6 for the season to go along with 4.0 assists and 2.9 3-pointers per game. Senior forward Ivan Aska has missed five straight games with a hand injury, but Ed Daniel (9.3 points, 6.4 rebounds) and Jewuan Long (8.9 points) have picked up the slack. Murray State leads the OVC in nine team categories, including scoring, scoring defense, field goal percentage, 3-point field goals per game and 3-point field goal percentage.

SIU Edwardsville Cougars (5-11): The Cougars, who moved to Division I in 2008-09, were picked to finish last in the 11-team OVC in the preseason poll, but got off to a fast start at 3-1. Juniors Mark Yelovich and Jerome Jones are solid up front. In OVC play, Yelovich averages 14.6 and Jones 14.4. Yelovich became the 14th player in school history to top the 1,000-point mark Thursday. Jones leads the team in rebounding at 6.4 and has led the team in scoring seven times. Freshman guard Kris Davis is averaging 12.7 points in OVC games and came into the week ranking second in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage at 57.6. Senior guard Corey Wickware averages 10.3 in conference play and shares the team lead with Davis in assists, both averaging 2.5.

1. A win over SIUE would give Murray State its 25th 20-win season in school history and it would mark the quickest it has reached the 20-win mark.

2. After outshooting their 11 previous opponents from the field, the Racers have been outshot in their last three games and have not topped 44 percent during that stretch. Murray State also has not shot better than 36 percent from 3-point range in those three games.

3. This will be the third ranked team SIUE has played since moving up to Division I three years ago. Last season, the Cougars lost at Illinois and Purdue.

BASKETBALL PREDICTION: Racers 78, Cougars 57.

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corey wickware - donte poole - ed daniel - isaiah canaan - ivan aska - jerome jones - jewuan long - kris davis - mark yelovich - murray state racers

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