Western Illinois at Denver odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Thursday’s Western Illinois at Denver odds and lines, with college basketball expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The Western Illinois Leathernecks (14-8, 7-4 Summit) visit the Denver Pioneers (12-12, 3-8) Thursday. Tip from Hamilton Gymnasium is set for 9 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Western Illinois vs. Denver odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.

Western Illinois beat San Diego State 81-73 in overtime Saturday, covering as a 1.5-point home underdog. The Leathernecks have won 5 in a row and are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) in that time. They are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 and 11-7-1 ATS on the season. According to NCAA.com, they average 75.3 points per game to rank 98th, while shooting 46.55% from the field (68th).

Denver fell 70-60 at Kansas City Saturday, failing to cover as a 6-point road underdog. It was the Pioneers’ 3rd straight loss and 3rd straight game they failed to cover the spread. The Pioneers are only 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games and 9-12-1 ATS overall. Despite their struggles, the Pioneers are one of the top shooting teams in the country, ranking 10th by shooting 49.1% from the field.

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Western Illinois at Denver odds

Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:58 a.m. ET.

  • Moneyline (ML): Western Illinois -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | Denver -110 (bet $110 to win $100)
  • Against the spread: Western Illinois -1.5 (+100) | Denver +1.5 (-120)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 147.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)

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Western Illinois at Denver picks and predictions

Prediction

Denver 79, Western Illinois 77

Moneyline

BET DENVER (-110).

The Pioneers have struggled recently, but return to their home court for the first time in 5 games. They are 6-3 at home this season — the Leathernecks are 3-6 on the road.

Denver will look to rally around its home crowd to get key stops on defense which will propel the Pioneers to victory.

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Against the spread

PASS.

Although not much, there is more juice on Denver +1.5 (-120) than the moneyline play for Denver.

Over/Under

BET OVER 147.5 (-115).

Both of these programs are more than capable of scoring a lot of points. Western Illinois’ O/U record is 10-9, while Denver’s is 16-6.

The Over has hit in each of Western Illinois’ last 3 games and is 6-4 in Denver’s last 10, including 3-1 in its last 4 home games.

With both teams’ strength coming from their respective offense, OVER 147.5 (-115) should be strongly considered.

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