Ohio Valley Conference Battle:  Eastern Illinois at Tennessee Tech
Sunday December 19th, 2010 at 5:00 PM EST
Current Point Spread:  Tennessee Tech -5
Current Total:  n/a
Moneyline:  Tennessee Tech -215 / Eastern Illinois +185

Tonight brings together a matchup of Ohio Valley Conference rivals Eastern Illinois and Tennesee Tech.  Tennessee Tech is currently 3-5, but are first in the Ohio Valley Conference.  Eastern Illinois is 4-6 and fourth in the conference.

Eastern Illinois has a -6.3 point differential, scoring a meek 59.4 points per game while giving up 65.7.  Tenn Tech scores 75.3 and gives up 71.9 for a +3.4 differential.

Some betting trends:  Eastern Illinois has lost 4 of their past 5 games on the road and are 3-6 ATS in their last 9 games against Tenn Tech. They are also 1-11 in their past 12 against Tennessee Tech.  The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Eastern Illinois’ past 6 games on the road at Tennessee Tech.

Tennesee Tech has won but 3 of their past 9 games.  They are 8-3, however, in their last 11 at home.  They have won 15 of the last 19 matchups against, which means the point spread in their favor gives with college basketball Vegas odds.

Eastern Illinois has a very balanced scoring attack.  All five of their starters average 8 points or more a game, but no one averages more than 12, and they don’t play their bench much at all (no one averages more than 12 minutes a game off the bench).  Their leading scorer 6’1″ junior point guard Jeremy Granger paces them with 11.7 points a game to go with 3.9 assists and 3.3 boards a game.  He’s not much of a shooter, and has only attempted 4 threes all year, missing all of them.  He’ll look to get to the basket and create for himself and teammates.  His backcourt mate, 6’1″senior guard Tyler Laser will score some off his looks, but is a poor shooter, shooting only 35% from the floor this year.  Tennesee Tech will give him open shots, and it’s up to him to make them pay.  More likely than not, however, he will miss them and it will lead to Tennesse Tech probably covering the point spread set by college basketball oddsmakers.

Tennessee Tech, like Illinois State, lacks any go to scorer but has a balanced attack.  They have 6 players averaging 7 points or more and are led by 6’6″ junior forward Kevin Murphy who averages 13.3 points per game.  He is an effective shooter, and has hit 9 of 24 threes this year (37.5%).  He does only play 25 minutes a game, however, as Tenn Tech goes deep into their bench with a 9 man rotation.  Their interior defense is weak as they lack any shotblocking big men, so Granger could exploit that weakness.

Overall, this should be a close game as indicated by the NCAA basketball odds.  It should prove to be a litmus test for both teams with regard to who may win the conference.  Tennesee Tech may currently be first in the conference, but there isn’t a big difference between them and fourth placed Illinois State.  If Tennesse Tech can use their depth to wear down Eastern Illinois, who lacks depth, then they should have a good shot at winning the game.