The Illinois Fighting Illini are less than 12 hours from tipping off their run through the NCAA Tournament with a first-round game against the Penn Quakers.
Unsurprisingly, as the No. 3-seed in the South Region, the Illini are expected to make a relatively deep run and are certainly favored to defeat the Quakers in the first round of the Big Dance.
Final odds for (3) Illinois Fighting Illini vs. (14) Penn Quakers
- Spread: -25.5 Illinois
- Money line: -20,000 Illinois, +3,500 Penn
- Over-Under: +/-151.5 points
The Fighting Illini are favored to demolish the Quakers, with the spread set at 25.5 points in favor of Illinois, while the over-under point total is set at just 151.5 points. The moneyline is indicative of how much a bettor would have to lay on the line to walk away profitable.
If someone were to bet $20,000 on the Illini winning, they would profit $100 at the end of the game (if Illinois won). On the other side of things, if someone bet $100 on Penn pulling off the upset, they would profit $3,500 if the Quakers actually won.
Odds are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are liable to change at any time.
Play specific odds for Illinois vs. Penn in NCAA Tournament
- Keaton Wagler (ILL): +/-17.5 points
- David Mirkovic (ILL): +/-15.5 points
- Andrej Stojakovic (ILL): +/-12.5 points
- Kylan Boswell (ILL): +/-12/5 points
- Tomislav Ivisic (ILL): +/-9.5 points
- TJ Power (PEN): +/-16.5 points
- Michael Zanoni (PEN): +/-9.5 points
- AJ Levine (PEN): +/-8.5 points
Despite Penn head coach Fran McCaffery sharing that star forward TJ Power was under the weather just one day before the game tipped off, oddsmakers still favored Power to score in the double digits.
Unsurprisingly, a slew of Illinois players were predicted to score in the double digits, including Keaton Wagler, David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, and Kylan Boswell.
Final score prediction: 92 Illinois, 65 Penn
With the possibility of Power still being sick, and Illinois head coach Brad Underwood being as fired up as possible, I expect this game to be a complete and total blowout in favor of the Illini.