...
not a whole lot in this matchup favors eastern illinois other than the fact it may be the highlight of their season (which i realize isn't saying much but a bad team's gotta hang its hat on sumthin eh)...
actually we have 2 bad teams in this matchup, an annual in-state affair that dates back to 1935 making it one of the oldest dustups from sea to oily sea... western illy won a laugher in '11 so we have revenge at work, plus eastern illinois has not lost its home leg in the series since '96 meaning there's a measure of achievement at stake as well...
western illy is in a bit of a bad spot here, they come in off a pair of conference road Ws, they've been OTR forever it seems, this non-con will be their 7th roadie in 8 starts since nov 14...
oh yes, speaking of that 11-14-12 tilt, it was @ SIU-edwardsville, a team in its 1st yr of div 1 hoops, western illy went in feelin sassy as a -3.5 fave and got smoked losing by 12...well, guess who's on deck saturday at home for western illy?...u got it, siu-ed, facing big-time revenge spot there...
look, let's not kid ourselves, there is very little to like about eastern illy here, they're lousy offensively (so is western illy for that matter, apart from clark who'll be the best player at both ends of the floor), they're like stevie wonder at the charity stripe, helpless on the glass, and they're trying to find their way under a 1st-yr coach, jay spoonhour...
as stated above however, they gotta look for sumthin to hang their hat on eh...spoonhour: "...there are not a lot of natural rivalries in our (ohio valley) conference so this is one we can point to"...
IMO they'll give this one their best shot vs an opponent that mite not match that motivation...
PICK: EASTERN ILLINOIS +5.5 (small)
GL whatever wagering path u choose
Good Luck
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