The Illinois Fighting Illini suffered a few tough losses earlier in the season, including a 71-51 molly-whopping to Cincinnati, but they still have lots of time to make up for those bumps in the road. They have a chance for a statement game tonight when they take on the Missouri Tigers.
To say that Missouri has stumbled out of the gate would be an understatement. The Tigers don't seem to be contenders this season, as they already have losses to Kansas City, Wichita State, and Liberty, all of games which a team from the SEC should probably win.
Let's take a look at the odds via WynnBET for this out-of-conference matchup.
Illinois vs. Missouri Odds, Spread, and Total
Spread:
- Illinois -14 (-110)
- Missouri +14 (-110)
Moneyline:
- Illinois -975
- Missouri +640
Total:
- 139 (Over -110/Under -110)
Illinois vs. Missouri Prediction and Pick
Believe it or not, Missouri is even worse than its 6-5 record would indicate. The Tigers rank 301st in the country in effective field goal percentage (45%) and 288th in opponent effective field goal percentage (52.7%). They also rank 282nd in turnovers per possession, coughing the up the ball 21% of the time. Things are ugly at Missouri.
Illinois has been lights out this season, ranking 20th in effective field goal percentage (55.6%). Pair that with some solid defensive play (71st in defensive efficiency), and this Illinois team will cause issues for a lot of teams.
Expect Kofi Cockburn to have a big game today. He's averaging 21.4 points and 11.9 rebounds per game and Missouri won't have anyone who'll be able to hang with him down low.
Illinois will win big tonight.