Tennessee State vs. Eastern Illinois Dunkel Predictions & Vegas Odds - Feb. 5

The Tennessee State Tigers (14-8, 8-4 OVC) host the Eastern Illinois Panthers (9-14, 5-7 OVC) at Gentry Center, tipping off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 5, 2026. The Tigers are 9.5-point favorites in the game. The matchup has a point total of 145.5.

Tennessee State is coming off of a 90-85 loss to Tennessee Tech in its last outing on Monday. In the loss, Aaron Nkrumah led Tennessee State with 21 points. Eastern Illinois is coming off of a 77-59 loss to Southeast Missouri State in its most recent game on Saturday. Eastern Illinois got a team-best 16 points from Markus Blackwell in the loss.

Tennessee State vs. Eastern Illinois Odds and Game Time

• When: Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 8:30 p.m. ET
• Where: Gentry Center in Nashville, Tennessee
• Spread favorite: Tennessee State -9.5
• Moneyline favorite: Tennessee State -556
• Moneyline underdog: Eastern Illinois +404
• Over/Under: 145.5 points

How to watch Tennessee State vs. Eastern Illinois

• TV Channel: ESPN+
• Check out the rest of our Dunkel Index NCAA Basketball Picks!

Betting the Over/Under: Tennessee State vs. Eastern Illinois

• This season, Tennessee State and its opponents have combined to outscore Thursday's over/under of 145.5 points 12 times.
• In Eastern Illinois' 20 games this season, four finished with more combined points than Thursday's over/under of 145.5.
• Together, the two teams combine for 147.9 points per game, 2.4 points more than the over/under of 145.5 for this game.
• This game's over/under is 1.5 less than the 147 points these two teams combine to allow per game.
• Tennessee State has seen a 157.8 average over/under in its games this season, 12.3 points more than the over/under in this contest.
• Eastern Illinois' games have an average over/under of 137.1 points this season, 8.4 fewer points than the over/under for this contest.

Betting the Spread: Tennessee State vs. Eastern Illinois

• Against the spread, Tennessee State is 11-8-0 this year.
• Eastern Illinois has 10 wins against the spread in 20 games this year.
• The Panthers have been underdogs by 9.5 points or more six times this year and are 4-2 ATS in those matchups.
• Tennessee State has covered the spread twice at home, and is 4-2 overall there, this season.
• This year away from home, Eastern Illinois is 6-5 against the spread and 1-10 overall.

Betting the Moneyline: Tennessee State vs. Eastern Illinois

• This season, Tennessee State has won six out of the nine games in which it has been the moneyline favorite.
• The Tigers have not been a bigger favorite this season than the -556 moneyline set for this game.
• The implied probability of a win from Tennessee State, based on the moneyline, is 84.8%.
• Eastern Illinois has been chosen as moneyline underdogs in 17 games this year and has walked away with the win five times (29.4%) in those games.
• The Panthers have yet to win this season when listed as an underdog of +404 or worse on the moneyline this season.
• The moneyline set for this matchup implies Eastern Illinois has a 19.8% chance of coming away with a victory in the contest.

Dunkel Index Prediction for Tennessee State vs. Eastern Illinois

• Pick ATS: Eastern Illinois (+ 9.5)
• Pick OU: Over (145.5)
  
• Prediction: Tennessee State 76 - Eastern Illinois 71