Valparaiso plays Illinois State following Pettigrew’s 21-point game

Illinois State Redbirds (12-3, 4-0 MVC) at Valparaiso Beacons (7-8, 1-3 MVC)

Valparaiso, Indiana; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Valparaiso faces Illinois State after JT Pettigrew scored 21 points in Valparaiso’s 66-59 win over the UIC Flames.

The Beacons have gone 6-3 at home. Valparaiso is 1-6 against opponents over .500.

The Redbirds are 4-0 in conference play. Illinois State ranks second in the MVC allowing 65.2 points while holding opponents to 40.7% shooting.

Valparaiso is shooting 40.0% from the field this season, 0.7 percentage points lower than the 40.7% Illinois State allows to opponents. Illinois State has shot at a 49.7% clip from the field this season, 7.4 percentage points higher than the 42.3% shooting opponents of Valparaiso have averaged.

The Beacons and Redbirds match up Wednesday for the first time in MVC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Owen Dease is scoring 12.7 points per game with 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist for the Beacons. Pettigrew is averaging 12.4 points and 6.7 rebounds over the last 10 games.

Chase Walker is averaging 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Redbirds. Boden Skunberg is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Beacons: 3-7, averaging 71.3 points, 34.2 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 5.5 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 40.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.8 points per game.

Redbirds: 9-1, averaging 81.3 points, 33.9 rebounds, 15.6 assists, 7.2 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 51.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.6 points.

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