WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

02/28 03:42 CST Walker, Illinois State Redbirds to host Scharnowski and the Belmont Bruins Walker, Illinois State Redbirds to host Scharnowski and the Belmont Bruins By The Associated Press Belmont Bruins (26-4, 16-3 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (19-11, 11-8 MVC) Normal, Illinois; Sunday, 5 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Belmont visits Illinois State in MVC action Sunday. The Redbirds have gone 12-2 in home games. Illinois State ranks sixth in the MVC with 8.5 offensive rebounds per game led by Chase Walker averaging 2.0. The Bruins are 16-3 against conference opponents. Belmont scores 84.4 points and has outscored opponents by 12.2 points per game. Illinois State scores 75.7 points per game, 3.5 more points than the 72.2 Belmont allows. Belmont has shot at a 51.8% clip from the field this season, 8.7 percentage points above the 43.1% shooting opponents of Illinois State have averaged. The teams meet for the second time in conference play this season. Belmont won 80-69 in the last matchup on Jan. 24. Eoin Dillon led Belmont with 16 points, and Johnny Kinziger led Illinois State with 13 points. TOP PERFORMERS: Kinziger is averaging 11.3 points and 3.1 assists for the Redbirds. Ty'Reek Coleman is averaging 10.9 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 47.5% over the last 10 games. Tyler Lundblade averages 3.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Bruins, scoring 15.7 points while shooting 40.8% from beyond the arc. Dillon is shooting 52.1% and averaging 11.8 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 5-5, averaging 70.6 points, 31.5 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 5.4 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.4 points per game. Bruins: 9-1, averaging 87.9 points, 29.5 rebounds, 20.0 assists, 5.9 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 53.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.9 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.