The Illinois Fighting Illini put forth one of their better performances of the season in their NIT opener against Valparaiso. It came as quite the surprise with long-time head coach John Groce getting axed a day prior. The win and cover pushed them into the second round of the tournament where they will once again get to play a home game against a Boise State Broncos squad that just went into Salt Lake City and took care of the disinterested Utah Utes.
At 9 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Monday, March 20, 2017, at the State Farm Center in Champagne, IL. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every NIT game on Monday’s college basketball schedule.
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Down seven points at the break and as many as 11 in the second half, Leon Rice’s kids never gave up and clawed and scratched their way back into the game before ultimately taking it over late to secure the 73-68 outright win as hefty 12 point underdogs. The win moved the team to 8-6 straight up and a money-making 8-5-1 against the spread on the true highway. It also put an end to the team’s two game road losing streak when dogged.
It didn’t take long for the Illini to take advantage of a Crusaders outfit without the services of their best player. Malcolm Hill and his mates grabbed their first double-digit lead of the game 5+ minutes into the first half, and from there, they never looked back. The 82-57 win and cover snapped a two-game losing streak that saw them lose at Rutgers in their regular season finale and to eventual B1G tourney winners Michigan in the second round. In the process they moved to 13-5 straight up and 8-7-1 against the spread when in the comforts of their own gym.
Key Matchup
One of the more impressive aspects of the Broncos outright win over the Utes was that they were able to get to the free throw line more. Utah just so happened to be the home team. That’s an oddity this day and age in college basketball, but it tells those looking for some action on this game that Boise State knows how to get to the charity stripe, and take care of business when it gets there. In fact, it averages 23.1 free throws per game and knocks them down at a 71.3 percent clip. The Illini are the lesser free throw shooting team, so if Boise State can continue playing towards that trend, their work from the stripe will likely play a huge role in this contest.
Player to Watch
Malcolm Hill – Off a terrible effort in that 82-57 trouncing at the hands of Big Blue, the senior took it upon himself to lead his team to the next round of the NIT versus Valpo. He went for a team-high 25 points on 7 of 12 shooting and buried four of his seven shots from long range. On top of that, he converted 7 of 8 from the charity stripe. Boise State has a deeper array of potent scorers, so it will be up to Hill to shoulder the scoring load for the Illini. Save for that game against Michigan, he’s been very consistent in averaging 18.0 points per game over his last nine when you take the Michigan game out of the equation. If off, Illinois will have a very tough time matching points with the more efficient Broncos.
Free College Basketball ATS Pick
Illinois is going to be the sexy side to back in this contest. They’re at home and off a trouncing of a solid Valparaiso team, while Boise State just put forth a ton of energy to comeback and beat the Utes on the road. I’m not sold however. One game doesn’t make an NIT tourney run, and I foresee the Illini coming in a bit cocky after waltzing to the first round victory. Illinois might possess the more efficient of the two defenses, but Boise State owns the advantage at the offensive end of the court. Look for Chandler Hutchison to build off his big game in SLC to lead his club to a second straight outright win over an Illini team that just might be better served calling it quits and looking ahead to next season.
College Basketball Odds: Boise State 81, Illinois 77
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