The Illinois Fighting Illini (26-8) battle the Morehead State Eagles (26-8) in the 1st round of the East Region Thursday from CHI Health Center Omaha. Tip is set for 3:10 p.m. ET (truTV). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s'lines around the Morehead State vs. Illinois odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
Illinois is No. 10 in the . It won the Big Ten Tournament, defeating the No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers 93-87 in the championship game and covering as a 4-point favorite. The Fighting Illini covered in 2 of the 3 tournament games and ended the regular season 17-12-2 against the spread (ATS). They have covered in 7 of their last 11 games. Illinois is the No. 3 seed in the East Region.
Morehead State comes in as the 14th seed in the region and have won 6 straight games. It won the Ohio Valley Conference, beating the Little Rock Trojans 69-55 in the final and covering as a 4.5-point favorite. The Eagles ended the tournament 2-1 ATS and ended the regular season 16-10-1 ATS.' During the regular season, Morehead State was led in scoring by Riley Minix at 20.5 points per game.
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