Ohio Bobcats AT Illinois State Redbirds
December 8th, 2010 at 8:05 EST
Opening Line: Illinois State -4
Current Line: Illinois State -4.5
Current Total: Undefined
Current Moneyline: Undefined
Ohio enters tonight’s game with a 4-3 record, coming off an 8 point loss to Marshall. Illinois State is 6-2 and has won four of their last five outings.
The total has gone OVER In four of Ohio’s last five games on the road. Illinois State has won 14 of their past 15 games at home. Ohio, despite having a winning record, has a negative point differential of -5.1, mainly due to the fact that they lost 98 to 41 against powerhouse Kansas. Illinois State has a positive point differential of +4.3. Illinois State is 0-5 ATS at home this year and 0-6 ATS overall.
No one on Illinois State is having a particularly good season. Their leading scorer (Austin Hill) averages only 11.6 points per game, and due to the fact they go 11 deep into their bench, no one is averaging more than 22 minutes a game, either. 6’7″ senior forward Tony Lewis is doing well in his 18 minutes a game, leading the Redbirds in rebounds with 8.1 boards a game, to go along with his 7.6 points per game. Ohio will have a tough time keeping him off the boards, as his per 36 stats render him with 16.2 boards a night. In a 9 point win against ULAR, he grabbed 13 boards in 17 minutes.
Ohio is led far and away by the 5’11” sophomore point guard D.J. Cooper. Cooper is a bit in the mold of Rajon Rondo, he’s small, lacks a jumpshot and is an incredible athlete. He averages 18.4 points per contest to go along with 6.6 assists per game and 6.0 rebounds per game. Despite standing only 5’11”, his 6.0 rebounds per game ranks him second on the team in rebounding. He also leads the team in minutes played, playing 33 minutes per night. His field goal is poor (40.2%) and he isn’t a good three point shooter, either (26.7%), but his quickness enables him to get into the paint and find good looks for himself or for his teammates, in particular DeVaughn Washington (9.8 ppg) and Ivo Baltic (9.0 ppg).
Tonight’s game will be mostly decided by the way Trey Blue chooses to play D.J. Cooper. If he goes under the picks and forces Cooper to take jumpshots, it will bode well for Illinois State. Ultimately, Illinois State’s depth is going to cause problems for Ohio, though. Because they go 11 deep they are able to keep fresh bodies on the floor and will seek to press Ohio as much as possible, to force turnovers and accelerate the pace of the game, which is in the Redbirds’ favor.
