Who's Playing
Eastern Illinois Panthers @ Tennessee State Tigers
Current Records: Eastern Illinois 5-12, Tennessee State 6-12
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 4:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Gentry Center -- Nashville, Tennessee
- 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: $35.00
What to Know
Tennessee State is 8-2 against Eastern Illinois since February of 2019, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. Both will face off in an Ohio Valley battle at 4:30 p.m. ET at Gentry Center. The Tigers are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 78.8 points per game this season.
Tennessee State fought the good fight in their overtime match against SIUE on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 87-80 to the Cougars.
Meanwhile, Eastern Illinois' recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their fourth straight defeat. They took a 68-63 hit to the loss column at the hands of UT Martin. That's two games in a row now that the Panthers have lost by exactly five points.
Tennessee State has not been sharp recently as the team has lost nine of their last 12 contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-12 record this season. As for Eastern Illinois, their loss dropped their record down to 5-12.
Looking forward, Tennessee State is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 5.5 points.
Tennessee State beat Eastern Illinois 78-73 in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. Will Tennessee State repeat their success, or does Eastern Illinois have a better game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Odds
Tennessee State is a solid 5.5-point favorite against Eastern Illinois, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Tigers as a 5-point favorite.
The over/under is 142.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Tennessee State has won 8 out of their last 10 games against Eastern Illinois.
- Feb 22, 2024 - Tennessee State 78 vs. Eastern Illinois 73
- Jan 27, 2024 - Tennessee State 64 vs. Eastern Illinois 60
- Feb 04, 2023 - Tennessee State 65 vs. Eastern Illinois 61
- Jan 19, 2023 - Tennessee State 78 vs. Eastern Illinois 74
- Feb 19, 2022 - Tennessee State 63 vs. Eastern Illinois 49
- Jan 29, 2022 - Eastern Illinois 62 vs. Tennessee State 57
- Feb 06, 2021 - Eastern Illinois 86 vs. Tennessee State 72
- Jan 23, 2021 - Tennessee State 65 vs. Eastern Illinois 54
- Jan 02, 2020 - Tennessee State 84 vs. Eastern Illinois 79
- Feb 23, 2019 - Tennessee State 75 vs. Eastern Illinois 60