After beating the Illinois Fighting Illini by an insane 34 points in their previous meeting this season, the Indiana Hoosiers will look to record their second straight rout of their Big Ten rivals while improving their chances of getting a high seed come March Madness time. Now, let’s find out how much the Hoosiers are going to win this Big 10 college hoops odds bout by by!
How To Bet The Indiana Hoosiers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini NCAAB Odds & TV Info
When: Thursday, February 25, 9:00 PM ET
Where: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
TV: ESPN
NCAAB Odds: TBA
Why Bet The Indiana Hoosiers
The 22nd-ranked Hoosiers (22-6 SU, 14-14 ATS) have won two straight and five of its last seven games overall, including its 77-73 win over No. 17 Purdue on Saturday, though they failed to cover the spread as a 4.5-point home favorite. Small forward Troy Williams had 19 points, and guard Yogi Ferrell added 18, and Indiana held off a furious comeback to post a 77-73 victory.
The Big Ten-leading Hoosiers were up by as many as 19 points in the second half before Purdue put the pedal to the metal to get the score to 75-73 on Dakota Mathias 3-pointer with 37 seconds remaining. Indiana outscored Purdue 20-3 in points off turnovers to halt a three-game losing streak against the Boilermakers.
“We wanted to create turnovers, and that is what we did,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “Purdue can beat you in so many ways, and we did an excellent job all night of limiting them to one shot. “Yogi played a tremendous game, and Troy just had a phenomenal week. We had 57 deflections, 33 at halftime. Our guys were active with their hands and feet. That was a huge advantage for us.”
Why Bet The Illinois Fighting Illini
The Fighting Illini (12-15 SU, 11-11 ATS) have lost three of its last five games and five of seven overall, including its humbling 69-60 road loss against Wisconsin as an 11.5-point underdog. Junior guard Malcom Hill scored a team-high points 20 points for the Illinois while junior guard Kendrick Nunn added 15 points. Unfortunately, Illinois shot a dismal 39.3 percent from the floor in the loss while getting called for a whopping 19 fouls in the second half to just seven for Wisconsin.
“Fouling is a mistake. We don’t want to do that. We take a lot of pride in defending without fouling,” Groce said.
Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction
Indiana averages exactly 10.0 points per game more than Illinois while also giving up 5.4 fewer points per game defensively, making this a lopsided affair just waiting to happen – again. The Hoosiers pounded the Fighting Illini silly in their 103-69 beat-down on January 19 and this game should be another rout for the March Madness-bound Hoosiers.
Indiana is 1-4 ATS in their last five road games, but the Hoosiers are also 6-1 ATS in their last seven games following an ATS loss. While Illinois has gone 4-1 ATS in their L/5 games overall, the Fighting Illini are also just 2-5 ATS in their last seven games versus a team with a winning record and 1-4 ATS in their last five home games.
With the Hoosiers going 4-1-1 ATS in the last six meetings, I say this game is a lock for Indiana to win by at least a dozen points.
My final score prediction: Indiana 83 Illinois 69
