How to watch Drake vs. Illinois State basketball game
Who’s Playing
Illinois State Redbirds @ Drake Bulldogs
Current Records: Illinois State 10-7, Drake 14-2
How To Watch
- When: Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 9 p.m. ET
- Where: Knapp Center — Des Moines, Iowa
- TV: ESPN Plus
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $21.42
What to Know
Drake is 9-1 against Illinois State since January of 2020, and they’ll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. Both will face off in a Missouri Valley battle at 9:00 p.m. ET at Knapp Center. The Bulldogs will be strutting in after a victory while the Redbirds will be stumbling in from a loss.
Drake is headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week’s over/under low at 120, but even that wound up being too high. They blew past Evansville 63-40 on Saturday. The Bulldogs were heavily favored coming into this match, and the results showcase why.
Bennett Stirtz was the offensive standout of the matchup as he went 7 for 11 en route to 16 points plus seven rebounds and six assists. He had some trouble finding his footing against Bradley on Wednesday, so this was a nice turnaround.
Drake smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 19 offensive rebounds. That’s the most offensive rebounds they’ve managed all season.
Meanwhile, Illinois State pushed their score all the way to 84 on Saturday, but even that wasn’t enough to win. They lost 85-84 to N. Iowa on a last-minute layup From Tytan Anderson. The Redbirds got off to an early lead (up 12 with 5:55 left in the first quarter), but sadly they weren’t able to maintain that momentum.
Despite their defeat, Illinois State saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Chase Walker, who almost dropped a double-double on 27 points and nine rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. What’s more, Walker also racked up six offensive rebounds, the most he’s had since back in November of 2024. Another player making a difference was Johnny Kinziger, who had 19 points.
The win made it two in a row for Drake and bumps their season record up to 14-2. As for Illinois State, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 10-7.
Wednesday’s contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Drake has been crazy accurate this season, having made 48.2% of their field goals per game. However, it’s not like Illinois State struggles in that department as they’ve made 48.8% of their field goals this season. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything went Drake’s way against Illinois State when the teams last played back in January of 2024, as Drake made off with a 77-56 victory. Will Drake repeat their success, or does Illinois State have a better game plan this time around? We’ll find out soon enough.
Odds
Drake is a big 9.5-point favorite against Illinois State, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 9.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
The over/under is 124.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Drake has won 9 out of their last 10 games against Illinois State.
- Jan 17, 2024 – Drake 77 vs. Illinois State 56
- Jan 02, 2024 – Drake 88 vs. Illinois State 71
- Feb 22, 2023 – Drake 82 vs. Illinois State 51
- Jan 26, 2022 – Drake 89 vs. Illinois State 88
- Jan 12, 2022 – Drake 86 vs. Illinois State 75
- Feb 01, 2021 – Drake 95 vs. Illinois State 60
- Jan 31, 2021 – Drake 78 vs. Illinois State 76
- Mar 05, 2020 – Drake 75 vs. Illinois State 65
- Feb 22, 2020 – Illinois State 57 vs. Drake 53
- Jan 16, 2020 – Drake 84 vs. Illinois State 74
