King leads Valparaiso against Illinois State after 24-point showing

Valparaiso Beacons (8-12, 2-7 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (8-12, 3-6 MVC)

Normal, Illinois; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Illinois State -7; over/under is 133.5

BOTTOM LINE: Valparaiso plays the Illinois State Redbirds after Kobe King scored 24 points in Valparaiso's 76-66 win over the UIC Flames.

The Redbirds are 5-4 in home games. Illinois State is seventh in the MVC with 23.1 defensive rebounds per game led by Seneca Knight averaging 5.2.

The Beacons have gone 2-7 against MVC opponents. Valparaiso is 2-9 against opponents over .500.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Darius Burford is averaging 11.1 points for the Redbirds. Knight is averaging 10.9 points over the last 10 games for Illinois State.

Quinton Green averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Beacons, scoring 10.5 points while shooting 32.4% from beyond the arc. Ben Krikke is averaging 17.8 points and 5.8 rebounds over the past 10 games for Valparaiso.

LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 4-6, averaging 65.5 points, 30.8 rebounds, 9.9 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 42.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.4 points per game.

Beacons: 4-6, averaging 66.6 points, 30.1 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 5.9 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 43.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.3 points.

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