There's enough of a class difference between these two Missouri Valley Conference teams to successfully lay the points with Southern Illinois.

The Salukis are downgraded because of an 82-59 road loss to Drake this past Saturday. However, prior to that defeat, Southern Illinois had won 14 of their previous 17 games. The Salukis are 8-0 ATS the past eight times following a loss of more than 20 points.

Valparaiso got past Illinois State at home this past Saturday. But the Beacons were 1-4 in their previous five games. They are 11-16 on the season, 5-11 in conference. Southern Illinois is 19-8 and 11-5 in league.

The big difference between these two teams is defense. The Salukis rank 20th in the country defensively giving up 61.9 points per game. The Beacons allow 73.5 points a game, which ranks 289th. That's a 12-point difference.

Valparaiso is 2-10 ATS the past dozen times playing an opponent with a winning record.

So the evidence is there for Southern Illinois to cover this number.