Indiana Hoosiers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini Pick

Indiana vs Illinois College Basketball Pick

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NCAA Basketball Pick

Can the Indiana Hoosiers stay at the top of the college basketball rankings for more than a week? Every top team of late has been losing in their first week at the top, and the Hoosiers will get a couple tests on the road in Big Ten play this week. Indiana must travel to Ohio State on Sunday, but they can’t overlook the Fighting Illini. Illinois has been struggling of late, but winning in Champaign has been tough for the last few years.

Game Overview:

The Indiana Hoosiers started the season at number one, but they were knocked out of that spot when Butler upset them a couple months ago. This was the first week that the Hoosiers have been back in the top spot, and they certainly don’t want to relinquish the top spot right away. Indiana probably has as much talent as any team in the country. Cody Zeller may be the best player in the country, and Victor Oladipo is the most improved player I’ve seen all year. Oladipo is so quick with the ball, and he is tremendous at getting to the basket. Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford, and Oladipo are all shooting at least 47 percent from three-point range. This Indiana team can score points in a hurry. They average 83.2 points per game.

The Hoosiers have improved quite a bit on the defensive end this year. If Indiana has a weakness, it would be on the defensive end, but they are working hard to get better. The Hoosiers aren’t letting their opponents get hardly any second chance opportunities this year. Overall, Indiana is giving up just 61 points per game.

Illinois started the season by winning their first 11 games, but they are now just 15-8. In fact, they have lost seven of their last nine games. First-year coach John Groce has the Fighting Illini pushing the tempo much more than they have in the past few years under Bruce Weber. Brandon Paul and Tracy Abrams are benefiting on the offensive end, but Illinois hasn’t been able to get enough stops to win games of late. The Fighting Illini are a poor rebounding team, and that can really hurt you in a conference like the Big Ten. Opponents shoot 43 percent from the floor, and in Big Ten play that number is closer to 50 percent.

The Illinois offense has plenty of talent, but sometimes it seems like they are lacking a little bit in the chemistry department. Brandon Paul has the potential to score in bunches, but he has been cold from the floor of late. D.J. Richardson has shot just 36 percent from the floor so far this year, and the team really needs more from him. It really hurts the Fighting Illini that they don’t have a low post scorer.

Free Pick: Indiana -7.5

This isn’t a great spot for Indiana since they have Ohio State coming up next, but the Hoosiers are just playing a lot better basketball than Illinois right now. I think Indiana overwhelms the Fighting Illini here.

Indiana 82 Illinois 71