Illinois vs. Texas Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, December 6 (Longhorns Will Dominate Jimmy V Classic)

Brad Underwood and the Illinois Fighting Illini are 1-2 against top 25 teams this season and most recently dropped their Big 10 opener to No. 13 Maryland 71-66. Now, they’ll test themselves against the No. 2 team in the country, the Texas Longhorns. Chris Beard absolutely has it rolling down in Austin. Last Thursday, his team took care of No. 21 Creighton 72-67, and they look like an easy final four contender. 

Here are the odds for Illinois and Texas in the Jimmy V Classic. 

Illinois vs. Texas Odds, Spread and Total

Illinois vs. Texas Prediction and Pick

Texas’s win over Creighton doesn’t look as good because the Bluejays are No. 21 now, but that is a great win over a really tough team to play. Creighton is capable of beating any team in the country and I don’t think Illinois is in that class. Texas did get lucky that Creighton wasn’t hitting shots in that game (4/27 from three), because the Longhorns didn’t have the stroke either. They went 4/19 from deep, but that is Chris Beard’s gameplan. He runs teams off the three-point line, and that’s why Texas holds opponents to 23% from deep and 55.2 points a game.

Texas has the guards needed to operate in late-game situations, which is why it was able to survive a late onslaught from Creighton last week. Texas should be able to weather the storm that Terrence Shannon Jr. brings whenever he gets hot in this game. Marcus Carr and Tyrese Hunter are always able to slow things down and get a good shot for the Longhorns, and with their depth at forward, they’ll give Illinois problems defensively and make it hard for Coleman Hawkins. 

I was really impressed with Texas against Creighton, and I think they’ll easily take care of business against a much less talented Illinois team that didn’t even have enough scoring to beat Maryland. 

Pick: Texas -2.5 (-110)

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change