College basketball betting: Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Wisconsin Badgers
by Mike Rose
Big Ten college basketball betting action commences on Thursday afternoon, and the conference tournament kicks off with a do-or-die game for the Illinois Fighting Illini, who will take on the Wisconsin Badgers.
Illinois dropped into a world of hurt over the L/4 weeks, freefalling from a team that was 17-8 and seemingly a lock for the NCAA Tournament to one that has lost five of its L/6 games and needs at least one, if not two wins in the Big Ten Tournament just to make the field of 65.
The Badgers know that they're dancing already, as they had a strong regular season with a number of key victories both at home and on the road. They're playing to improve what is probably at this point either a #4 or #5 seed in the biggest tournament of the college basketball betting world.
Illinois Fighting Illini (18-13, 12-18 ATS) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (23-7, 17-11 ATS)
:
Illinois Fighting Illini +8.5
Wisconsin Badgers -8.5
Game Total 121
The Illini have slipped through the cracks of the college basketball world thanks in large part to their lackluster offense. Since beating these Badgers at the Kohl Center back on February 9th, Illinois has averaged just 57.2 points per game, which is nearly two touchdowns worth of points less than its season average (70.5 PPG).
It’s imperative G Demetri McCamey step it up if the Illini are going to get back into the win column for their betting fans. He averaged just 11.2 points per game in that six game stretch and has scored more than his average of 14.9 points per game once as well.
The Badgers finished just a game off the pace of the Big Ten regular season title, and they rode their defense to get to that point.
Wisconsin boasts the third best defense in college basketball, allowing just 56.1 points per game. In its L/7 wins, the Badgers have only allowed an average of 50.6 points per game.
Things can be a struggle at times at the offensive side of the court for the Badgers, but they run an efficient ship, shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and 36.3 percent from downtown to date.
They also have the 25th best free throw shooting percentage in the nation at 74.1 percent and only turn the ball over a svelte 8.5 times per contest.
College Basketball Insider Betting Tip: The Badgers went a solid 11-7 ATS in Big Ten play this season, and covered six of its nine Big 10 road games.
Wisconsin clearly has the better team and the momentum riding into this game. That Illinois victory in Madison seems a heck of a lot more like a fluke than anything else at this point.
The Illini are going to fight for their lives, but if McCamey and the crew can't find a way to score against this stout defense, this one could get away from them in a hurry.
The Badgers should be able to get enough offensive production by putting forth a well-balanced effort like the one they churned out in the 72-57 win over the Illini last Sunday.
