The No.14 Virginia Cavaliers (3-0) will take on the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini (4-0) in Las Vegas Sunday at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Virginia vs. Illinois odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
After cancelling a game earlier in the week because of a shooting on its campus, Virginia came out Friday with an emphatic 86-79 win over 6th-ranked Baylor as a 4.5-point underdog. The victory against the Bears means a title game against Illinois in the Continental Tire Main Event tournament.
Illinois played its own superb game Friday, winning 79-70 and covering as a 3.5-point underdog against No. 7 UCLA.
In what should be another great matchup, this game is going to be lower scoring then Friday’s games. But it will still be fun as 2 of the top teams in the country face off.
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Virginia vs. Illinois odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:11 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Virginia -105 (bet $105 to win $100) | Illinois -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Virginia +1.5 (-115) | Illinois -1.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 132.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Virginia vs. Illinois picks and predictions
Prediction
Virginia 75, Illinois 70
Moneyline
BACK VIRGINIA (-105).
Virginia looked good in its win over Baylor, but Illinois looked good too in its win over a talented UCLA squad. The Cavaliers have shown an ability to play all types of basketball this season. Whether they want to slow down the game to a snail’s pace or speed it up a bit, the Cavaliers have been adaptable.
VIRGINIA (-105) is my FAVORITE PLAY.
Against the spread
PASS.
Unless you want the security of taking 1.5 points with Virginia, stick to the ML play above.
This should be a great game between 2 top-20 teams.
Over/Under
LEAN OVER 132.5 (-115).
While Virginia can play at all speeds as needed, its preferred speed is slow which could lead to an Under in this game. But Illinois will increase the pace enough where Virginia will need to score some to win. It may not be the high-scoring affair of both teams’ 1st games in this Las Vegas 4-team tourney, but it should be high scoring enough to go over the total.
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