Illinois State Redbirds vs. N. Iowa Panthers: How to watch NCAA Basketball online, TV channel, live stream info, start time

How to watch Illinois State vs. Northern Iowa basketball game

By Scout Staff

Jan 11, 2025 at 7:50 pm ET • 3 min read

Halftime Report

After a tough loss on the road their last time out, Illinois State looks much better today on their home court. They have jumped out to a quick 43-36 lead against N. Iowa.

If Illinois State keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 11-6 in no time. On the other hand, N. Iowa will have to make due with a 9-8 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

N. Iowa Panthers @ Illinois State Redbirds

Current Records: N. Iowa 9-7, Illinois State 10-6

How To Watch

When: Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: CEFCU Arena -- Normal, Illinois
TV: ESPN Plus
Follow: CBS Sports App
Online Streaming: Catch select College Basketball matches on Fubo (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
Ticket Cost: $15.40

What to Know

Illinois State is 1-9 against N. Iowa since February of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. Both will face off in a Missouri Valley battle at 7:00 p.m. ET at CEFCU Arena. Both of these teams will be coming in off a loss in a game they were expected to win.

Illinois State is headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week's over/under low at 131, but even that wound up being too high. They took a 69-51 bruising from Evansville on Wednesday. The game marked the Redbirds' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

Meanwhile, N. Iowa suffered their closest defeat since December 2, 2023 on Wednesday. They fell just short of Murray State by a score of 71-68. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Despite their loss, N. Iowa saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Trey Campbell, who went 7 for 13 en route to 17 points plus three steals, was perhaps the best of all. Campbell had some trouble finding his footing against Valparaiso on Saturday, so this was a nice turnaround. The team also got some help courtesy of Leon Bond III, who made all 5 shots he took racking up 13 points.

Illinois State's defeat dropped their record down to 10-6. As for N. Iowa, their loss ended a six-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 9-7.

Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Illinois State hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 77.4 points per game. However, it's not like N. Iowa struggles in that department as they've been averaging 76.9. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.

As for their next game, Illinois State is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by one point. For those looking to play the spread, take note: they are a solid 5-2 against the spread when playing at home.