The Illinois Fighting Illini (27-8) battle the Duquesne Dukes (25-11) Saturday in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament from CHI Health Center Omaha. Tip is set for 8:40 p.m. ET (TNT). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s'lines around the Duquesne vs. Illinois odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
Illinois is No. 10 in the and seeded 3rd in the East Region. The Illini beat the No. 14 Morehead State Eagles 85-69 Thursday, covering as an 11-point favorite. Illinois has covered in 3 straight games and ended the regular season 17-12-2 against the spread (ATS). It won the Big Ten Tournament and is one of the hottest teams in the country.
Duquesne has also proven itself, taking down Dayton and VCU en route to an Atlantic 10 Championship. It was just 14-16 ATS on the season, but has covered 5 straight since the end of the regular season. The 11th-seeded Dukes beat the 6-seed BYU Cougars 71-67 Thursday, covering as a 9-point underdog. They have covered in 8 of their last 9 games and have covered in 5 straight as an underdog.
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