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01/23 03:43 CST Illinois State faces Belmont following Skunberg's 20-point game Illinois State faces Belmont following Skunberg's 20-point game By The Associated Press Illinois State Redbirds (14-6, 6-3 MVC) at Belmont Bruins (17-3, 7-2 MVC) Nashville, Tennessee; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Illinois State takes on Belmont after Boden Skunberg scored 20 points in Illinois State's 59-54 victory against the Northern Iowa Panthers. The Bruins have gone 7-2 at home. Belmont ranks seventh in the MVC with 8.4 offensive rebounds per game led by Drew Scharnowski averaging 2.2. The Redbirds are 6-3 against MVC opponents. Illinois State has a 1-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points. Belmont makes 50.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 9.6 percentage points higher than Illinois State has allowed to its opponents (41.3%). Illinois State has shot at a 48.0% rate from the field this season, 9.6 percentage points higher than the 38.4% shooting opponents of Belmont have averaged. The Bruins and Redbirds face off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Tyler Lundblade averages 3.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Bruins, scoring 15.2 points while shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc. Sam Orme is averaging 12.8 points and 6.1 rebounds over the past 10 games. Chase Walker is averaging 13.8 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Redbirds. Skunberg is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 8-2, averaging 79.6 points, 32.6 rebounds, 16.5 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 50.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.0 points per game. Redbirds: 6-4, averaging 75.0 points, 32.7 rebounds, 12.5 assists, 6.3 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.9 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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