Illinois State visits Belmont following Dia's 32-point outing

Updated Jan. 9, 2024 3:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Illinois State Redbirds (8-7, 2-2 MVC) at Belmont Bruins (10-5, 3-1 MVC)

Nashville, Tennessee; Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Belmont takes on the Illinois State Redbirds after Malik Dia scored 32 points in Belmont's 87-65 victory over the Drake Bulldogs.

The Bruins are 6-0 on their home court. Belmont is sixth in the MVC with 14.9 assists per game led by Ja'Kobi Gillespie averaging 4.1.

The Redbirds are 2-2 in conference play. Illinois State is 4-2 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 12.1 turnovers per game.

Belmont scores 80.3 points, 11.0 more per game than the 69.3 Illinois State gives up. Illinois State averages 6.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.3 fewer made shots on average than the 7.7 per game Belmont gives up.

The matchup Wednesday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Cade Tyson averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Bruins, scoring 16.8 points while shooting 38.2% from beyond the arc. Dia is shooting 56.3% and averaging 20.2 points over the past 10 games for Belmont.

Dalton Banks is shooting 34.5% from beyond the arc with 1.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Redbirds, while averaging 10.7 points and 3.7 assists. Darius Burford is averaging 14.8 points over the past 10 games for Illinois State.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 8-2, averaging 79.4 points, 34.7 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 7.8 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 48.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.9 points per game.

Redbirds: 5-5, averaging 67.9 points, 35.8 rebounds, 12.2 assists, 5.7 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.7 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.