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Illinois Basketball: Illini Non-Conference Predictions

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce speaks with the media during Big Ten media day at the Marriott Washington Wardman Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce speaks with the media during Big Ten media day at the Marriott Washington Wardman Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jalen Coleman-Lands (5) is guarded by Purdue Boilermakers guard P.J. Thompson (3) during the Big Ten Conference tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jalen Coleman-Lands (5) is guarded by Purdue Boilermakers guard P.J. Thompson (3) during the Big Ten Conference tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Winthrop (W 75-66)

After the Illini get through the first four games of the season a few things happen.

The first thing is the Illini get back Leron Black.  He is going to be a big piece to the NCAA Tournament puzzle for Illinois.

The other thing is the Illini schedule starts to get a lot tougher.

Illinois takes on Winthrop in the next game.  This is not going to be an easy matchup despite the leagues the teams both play in.

Last season, the Eagles finished with a 23-9 record that included playing some major power five conference programs tough.

But, from that good team last season, Winthrop is losing leading scorer and assister Jimmy Gavin who averaged 18.7 PPG and 3 APG.

This is a lot for Winthrop to lose and to still expect to compete with the bigger programs.  They also don’t have the height with their tallest player being 6-foot-8.

Illinois will have a tough game on their hands but I think they come out with a 75-66 victory.

West Virginia (W 68-63)

The West Virginia Mountaineers will be the toughest test Illinois faces in the non-conference.  This team was a top 10 program all of last season.

But, I am betting this season looks a lot different for West Virginia.

The Mountaineers are losing their top two leading scorers from last season who averaged 13.7 PPG and 13.3 PPG.

And one of those leading scorers was also their leading rebounder who averaged 9.5 RPG as well.

That is a lot of production to lose and to still expect to be a top 25 team this season.  I think this will help the Illini tremendously in this game.

West Virginia does have a few wild card players in Maciej Bender and Logan Routt who are 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-11, respectively.

Besides for these two players, the Mountaineers are undersized and I think the Illini will prey on that fact.

This game is going to be a close one, but I think Illinois comes out with a win, 68-63.

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