Illinois vs. Wake Forest Pick
Can Illinois keep its unbeaten season going when the Illini hit the road to face Wake Forest tonight at 9PM ET in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Wake Forest is favored at home, as the Demon Deacons are getting odds of -2.5 points against Illinois. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 157.5 points. Tonight’s game takes place from Lawrence Joel Coliseum in Winston-salem, North Carolina. The contest will air live on ESPNU.
Illinois is coming off an 86-73 win over North Carolina Central last weekend. The Illini are now 6-0 on the season while going 2-1 against the spread. Illinois is averaging 87.6 points per game while giving up 69.8 per contest. Leron Black is putting up 14.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game to lead Illinois while Michael Finke is adding 14.7 points and 6 rebounds per game.
Wake Forest is coming off an 81-75 win over UNC-Greensboro last weekend to improve to just 2-4 on the season. The Demon Deacons are 1-3-1 against the spread. Wake is putting up 74.8 points per game while also giving up 74.8 per contest. Keyshawn Woods is leading Wake with 17 points per game while Bryant Crawford is adding 15.8 points and 4 assists per contest.
Bet on Illinois vs. Wake Forest
The home team has won the last two meetings between these two, with Illinois covering the spread in both contests. Wake Forest is just 1-4 against the spread in their last 5 against Big Ten opponents and 9-19 ATS in their last 28 games following a win. Illinois has covered the spread in seven of its last nine non-conference games. The public betting is behind Illinois today, pretty strongly. The Demon Deacons don’t have a lot of trends in their favor. While Illinois hasn’t played great competition, they are still finding ways to win, which can help in a close game on the road.
CBB DAILY PREDICTION: ILLINOIS +2.5