The No. 16 Illinois Fighting Illini (8-3) travel to St. Louis to take on the Missouri Tigers (10-1) Thursday at 7 p.m. ET (SEC Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Illinois vs. Missouri odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Missouri is among the highest-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 88.4 points per game, and have a better record than the Illini despite not being ranked. The Tigers only loss this season was a dreadful 95-67 loss to border rival No. 4 Kansas. The Tigers are a solid team and they will look to gain a victory over a ranked opponent on Thursday.
Illinois is led by Terrence Shannon Jr., who averages 17.8 points in 30.8 minutes per game for the Illini. Illinois has played a difficult schedule which includes a loss to Virginia and 2 losses in its 1st 2 Big Ten games to Maryland and Penn State. The Illini will look to beat a high-scoring opponent in Missouri as these 2 schools who are 250 miles apart meet in the middle and settle things on the court.
Ratings courtesy of USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
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Illinois vs. Missouri odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:44 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Illinois -280 (bet $280 to win $100) | Missouri +200 (bet $100 to win $200)
- Against the spread (ATS): Illinois -6.5 (-110) | Missouri +6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 153.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Illinois vs. Missouri picks and predictions
Prediction
Illinois 73, Missouri 64
Moneyline
PASS.
Illinois is a wonderful addition to a parlay at -280 but as for a straight wager, the number is too high to make a bet on. Missouri +200 would be a good payout, but the Tigers are not likely to win this matchup, so the moneyline is a pass for me.
Against the spread
BET ILLINOIS -6.5 (-110).
Missouri has been putting up points. But it has been doing so against inferior competition while Illinois has been playing a more difficult schedule.
The Illini will find this an easier game then those they have played in recent weeks. While the 88.4 points put up on average by Missouri is nice, we just saw it shutdown by Kansas who held them to 67. Illinois can have the same type of success here and Illinois should win this game and cover the spread. Illinois -6.5 (-110) is my favorite play.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 153.5 (-110).
Despite their gaudy average, Missouri games have still only gone Over the total in 7 of 11 games. This is because as good as the offense can be, the defense can also clamp down a bit on opponents.
Illinois has only gone Over the total in 5 of its 11 games. This will be a lower scoring game then most think and I can see this game ending in the 140s. This makes the Under 153.5 (-110) my play.
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