After Illinois demolished the Penn Quakers and VCU upset the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Fighting Illini and the Rams were on a crash course ot meet in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
As the No. 3-seed in the South Region, it should be no surprise that the Illini were favored by oddsmakers over the Rams, who were the 11-seed in the region. However, the 10.5-point spread in Illinois's favor by no means is a sign that Brad Underwood and his team can take it easy.
In the first round, the Illini were favored by 25.5 points over the Quakers. They blew that out of the water, securing a 35-point victory over Penn.
Underwood needs to expect more of that from his team as they advance to the second round, where they have to take on a team that just pulled off an upset over the No. 6-seed Tar Heels.
Illinois should aim to cover the spread vs. VCU
Wins beget wins, blowouts beget blowouts. Underwood and the Illini need to continue riding their momentum to dominate VCU in the second round, and (hopefully) in the rounds to come.
Not to mention, the Rams just showed the world that they can hang with a top-tier team, something that Illinois can't take lightly as they now face the risk of being VCU's second upset of the NCAA Tournament.
Stars like Keaton Wagler, David Mirkovic, and the rest of the Illini need to keep playing their best ball if they want to defeat VCU to advance to the Sweet 16. If not, Underwood could be heading home a lot earlier than he planned.
Also read: Brad Underwood made it clear what's on his mind after Illinois throttled Penn
(3) Illinois and (11) VCU are scheduled to tip off at 6:50 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 21, and the game will be broadcast on CBS. This game will be the perfect opportunity for Underwood to show the world that it's time to take the Illini as seriously as anybody else still in the tournament.