Just in case the Thanksgiving Day action wasn’t enough to fill your appetite, the No. 5 UConn Huskies and No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illinois are set to tip off at 12:30 PM ET in some Black Friday college basketball action.
Both teams have just one loss on the season, with Illinois losing to Alabama and UConn losing to Arizona, each by a deficit of just four points.
Let’s dive into the odds and my best bet for this intriguing out-of-conference showdown.
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Spread
Moneyline
Total
Andrej Stojakovic, G – Illinois
The California transfer has gotten off to a strong start for the Fighting Illini, averaging 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 58.8% from the field. His best games have come against Illinois’ toughest opponents, scoring 23 points against Texas Tech and 26 against Alabama. He’ll have to put up another solid performance if Illinois wants to pull off the upset.
UConn and Illinois are right next to each other on the KenPom rankings, coming in at 13th and 14th in net rating. Their effective field goal percentage numbers are also right next to each other at 30th and 32nd.
Where Illinois has the advantage is with its ability to put together effective possessions through limiting turnovers and taking advantage of offensive rebounds. It ranks sixth in effective possession ratio, while UConn ranks 70th in that metric.
That’s enough for me to back Illinois getting points in what should be a close game.
Pick: Illinois +2.5 (-115) via FanDuel
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You can check out all of Iain’s bets here!
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