The College Basketball Invitational is one of several postseason tournaments outside of the NCAA Tournament, and the 2025 Purple CBI championship will be decided on Wednesday. The field of 11 teams — all from mid-majors — has been whittled down to two, with the Cleveland State Vikings facing the Illinois State Redbirds. The Vikings (23-12) finished second in the Horizon Conference and bowed out in its conference tournament semifinals. The Redbirds placed fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference and were eliminated in the MVC tournament quarterfinals. Both programs are going for their first CBI Final victory.
The game from Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., tips off at 5 p.m. ET. The Redbirds are 2.5-point favorites in the latest Cleveland State vs. Illinois State odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under is 141.5. Before making any Illinois State vs. Cleveland State picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from SportsLine’s Matt Severance.
Severance enters this matchup on a sizzling 61-27 run on all CBB money-line picks, returning over 23 units during that span. Anyone following could have seen huge returns.
Now, he has set his sights on Cleveland State vs. Illinois State and just locked in his predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college basketball odds and lines for Illinois State vs. Cleveland State:
- Cleveland State vs. Illinois State spread: Illinois State -2.5
- Cleveland State vs. Illinois State over/under: 141.5 points
- Cleveland State vs. Illinois State money line: ISU -140, CSU +120
- ISU: The Redbirds are 20-14 against the spread (ATS)
- CSU: The Vikings are 19-13-1 ATS
- Cleveland State vs. Illinois State picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Cleveland State can cover
Cleveland State isn’t just the better defensive team in this matchup as it’s one of the best defensive teams in the country. It ranks 28th in steals per game, 31st in blocks per game, and just 10 teams in the nation force more turnovers per game. The team simply swarms ball-handlers as five different Vikings are averaging at least one steal per game. CSU is also fundamentally sound on that end of the court in playing man-to-man defense as it allows the fewest made field goals per game of any Horizon team.
On offense, the Vikings have great depth, and that was on display in their CBI semifinal win over Florida Gulf Coast. The Cleveland State bench combined for 31 points, while holding FGCU’s reserves to just five points, with Je’Shawn Stevenson leading both the second unit and all of CSU with 17 points. Stevenson ranks just fourth on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg), which shows the potential potency of Cleveland State, and it may score at will versus a Redbirds team which struggles to defend the paint, as they rank 359th of 364 D1 teams in blocks per game. See which team to pick here.
Why Illinois State can cover
The Redbirds defeated Incarnate Word, 78-73, in Tuesday’s CBI Semifinals in what was a closely-contested game in which neither team led by more than six points. Illinois State put on a clinic in terms of drawing fouls and getting to the line as it set season highs in both FT attempts (33) and FT makes (25). Chase Walker was the offensive standout with 27 points and eight rebounds as the 6-foot-9, 275-pound All-MVC First-Team selection will be a handful for Cleveland State.
ISU has an offensive efficiency, per KenPom, that ranks among the top quartile in all of Division I and is better than 22 NCAA tourney teams. It is an elite-shooting squad, ranking among the top 35 in the country in FG percentage, 2P percentage and 3P percentage. When you take that into account, plus its proven ability to generate points from the free throw line, Illinois State is well positioned to win their first postseason tournament of any kind. See which team to pick here.
How to make Cleveland State vs. Illinois State picks
Severance is going Under on the total, and he’s found a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side. You can see who it is at SportsLine.
So who wins Illinois State vs. Cleveland State, and what critical X-factor do you need to know about? Visit SportsLine now to see which side to jump on, all from the expert who is on a 61-27 roll on CBB money-line picks, and find out.
This news was originally published on this post .
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