Skunberg leads Illinois State against Northern Iowa after 23-point game

By Canadian Press on January 20, 2026.

Northern Iowa Panthers (12-7, 4-4 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (13-6, 5-3 MVC)

Normal, Illinois; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Illinois State takes on Northern Iowa after Boden Skunberg scored 23 points in Illinois State’s 88-62 victory over the Bradley Braves.

The Redbirds are 8-1 in home games. Illinois State ranks eighth in the MVC with 13.9 assists per game led by Johnny Kinziger averaging 2.9.

The Panthers are 4-4 against MVC opponents. Northern Iowa is 1-1 in games decided by less than 4 points.

Illinois State averages 79.3 points, 19.6 more per game than the 59.7 Northern Iowa gives up. Northern Iowa averages 7.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.2 more made shots on average than the 6.6 per game Illinois State gives up.

The Redbirds and Panthers face off Wednesday for the first time in MVC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Chase Walker is scoring 14.2 points per game and averaging 5.8 rebounds for the Redbirds. Skunberg is averaging 10.9 points and 3.8 rebounds over the last 10 games.

Trey Campbell is scoring 13.3 points per game and averaging 3.3 rebounds for the Panthers. Max Weisbrod is averaging 1.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 6-4, averaging 78.6 points, 33.0 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 49.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.8 points per game.

Panthers: 5-5, averaging 62.7 points, 29.3 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 6.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 43.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.8 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

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