Game Information
Saint Louis Billikens (7-1) vs Central Michigan Chippewas (3-5)
Time: 2pm CT Sunday
How to watch: ESPN+
DraftKings Odds
Spread: SLU -24.5
Total: 156.5
KenPom Projection
SLU 88, Central Michigan 64
Billikens Return Home
The Saint Louis University Billikens will be back at Chaifetz Arena to tip off a six-game homestand on Sunday afternoon against the Central Michigan Chippewas.
It’s the first ever meeting between the two schools.
Letdown Spot For SLU?
SLU is coming off a 2-1 trip to California with wins over Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount and a last-second loss to Stanford. The Billikens did not shoot the ball well in the first two games of the trip, but they got back on track by shooting over 50% from the field and putting up 91 points at Loyola Marymount last time out.
SLU is easily expected to win this game as a 24.5-point favorite, with the biggest remaining non-conference game looming on Saturday, December 13th against San Francisco.
Central Michigan… Not Good
Central Michigan is ranked 305th out of 365 teams in the country according to KenPom as of the time of this writing the night before the game. The Chippewas lost to another Atlantic 10 team last time out, 83-72 to Loyola Chicago. The Ramblers hadn’t covered a game all season up until that one.
Central Michigan is a terrible defensive team, ranking 330th out of 365 teams in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.
My Lean
This game frankly doesn’t have much juice behind it. SLU is coming off three challenging games away from home, and Central Michigan is awful. I would stay away from this one from a gambling perspective, as this could be a flat spot for the Billikens with this being the sandwich game before their toughest remaining non-conference matchup.
If forced to make a pick, I would go with Central Michigan to backdoor cover late with SLU dropping intensity late in the game. As bad as the Chippewas are, they’ve been profitable against the spread with a record of 4-3.
Lean: Central Michigan +24.5 at -105 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Wednesday night on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Get Eric's picks for all sports by following him in the Action Network app with the username "esontag". Disclaimer