Thursday Night:
Richmond at Pittsburgh - The Spiders were able to upset UAB last week to give me a loss. I am not confident that they can do it again. Richmond is now 4-3 against D1 competition but only 1-3 on the road. The Spiders will also be outsized and outboarded by the Panthers. Pitt is currently outrebounding opponents by 12 a game. This one is an easy call for the MRI. MRI Predicts: Pittsburgh Confidence factor: 92.78% MRI Result: WIN

Illinois State at Southern Illinois - This is the battle for control of downstate Illinois. The Missouri Valley Conference has been a surprise this year. Sure, everyone counted on Southern Illinois to be good again. Illinois State, however, was picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference and in some publications, dead last. Still, the Redbirds have gone 7-2 to start the season. They haven't had the best competition, but do hold wins over Mississippi and Penn State. If the Redbirds hope to win this game, their top scoring threat Trey Guidry will need to stay hot. Appropriate for his name, he led the league in 3 point percentage last season and they will have to have some of those to contend with a stronger Southern Illinois team. Illinois State does have 6'10" freshman Levi Dyer, but at 225 pounds, he will be easy to move outside, even if he does have two inches on the tallest Saluki. Lorenzo Gordon, a 6'7" JC transfer has been their biggest scorer this season. If you still need to know anything about Southern Illinois after the last three years, then you have been living in a hole. With their third new coach in three years, they are still a major contender in the Missouri Valley thanks to Senior point guard Darren Brooks. Brooks was the player of the year in the MVC last season and this year is putting up numbers to keep him there for a second straight year. Averaging close to 16 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists a game, Brooks has been a driving force in the 7-2 start for Southern Illinois. Playing at home, the Salukis should win this one, but you never know when you play in the Valley. MRI Predicts: Southern Illinois Confidence factor: 73.45% MRI Result: WIN

Providence at Memphis - Both of these teams are looking for consistency in their season. Memphis has been on a downward spiral lately, losing 3 out of 4, including an embarrassing loss at home to Louisiana Tech and two blowouts. They will need to step it up against Providence tonight to make sure that this does not continue. The Friars, for their part, are still getting great contributions from All Big East Ryan Gomes. His numbers so far this year are close to last year, and will only get better now that he has some help. Sophomore guard Dwight Brewington has stepped up his scoring this season to give Providence a second scoring threat and take some pressure off of Gomes. Providence needs this game to provide themselves some stability in the season before the Big East kicks off. The loss to Winthrop three weeks ago didn't help them, and the loss to Wichita State, while a good team, was a game they needed to win. Memphis will be a test at home which flips this one to the Tigers. MRI Predicts: Memphis Confidence factor: 53.62% MRI Result: LOSS