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The 9-seed Illinois Fighting Illini (20-12) battle the 8-seed Arkansas Razorbacks (20-13) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tip from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, is set for 4:30 p.m. ET (TBS). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Illinois vs. Arkansas odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Illinois fell 79-69 to Penn State and failed to cover as a 3-point favorite in the 2nd round of the Big Ten Tournament. In its last 10 games, it is 4-6 straight up and against the spread (ATS). The Fighting Illini are 18-14 ATS on the season.
Arkansas fell 67-61 to Texas A&M and failed to cover as a 1-point favorite in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament. It is 4-6 in its last 10 games and 5-5 ATS in that span. This season, the Razorbacks are 16-16-1 ATS
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Illinois vs. Arkansas odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 7:13 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Illinois +110 (bet $100 to win $110) | Arkansas -130 (bet $130 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Illinois +1.5 (-105) | Arkansas -1.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 143.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Illinois vs. Arkansas picks and predictions
Prediction
Illinois 71, Arkansas 68
Moneyline
BET ILLINOIS +110
While Illinois closed out its season with back-to-back losses, it lost both games by a total of 8 points and scored more than 70 in each of its last 3 games. The Fighting Illini will look to control the pace of this game and put Arkansas on its heels.
Arkansas dropped 4 of its final 5 games scoring 61 or fewer points in 2 of them and dropping 2 of the games as a favorite. The Razorbacks have been streaky this season which does not build confidence in them entering a win-or-go-home scenario.
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Against the spread
PASS.
The moneyline is the more profitable play on Illinois in this matchup.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 143.5 (-105).
Defense is both Illinois and Arkansas’ strong point which will aide the Under in this matchup.
For Illinois, the Under is 20-5-1 in its last 26 NCAA Tournament games while the Under is 8-2 in Arkansas’ last 10 NCAA Tournament games.
As it stands, 143.5 would be the 2nd-highest closing line for the Fighting Illini in their last 10 games.
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