GAME: #871 Maryland vs #872 Illinois
TIME: 2/7/2020 – 8:00p EST
SPREAD: Illinois -3
TOTAL: 130
SPORTSBOOK: BetOnline.ag
The #9 Maryland Terrapins (18-4) have a tough BIG 10 Conference road game against the #20 Illinois Fighting Illini (16-6) at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois on Friday at 8 PM EST. In their last game, the Fighting Illini fell at Iowa by a score of 65-72 while Maryland had a tough home win over Rutgers by a score of 65-61. These teams met earlier this season where Illinois dominated an over-confident Maryland team the entire game until a late rally by Cowan Jr to pull off the win on their home court by a score of 59-58 back in December.
MARYLAND TERRAPINS
The Maryland Terrapins are averaging 71 points per game on 41% field-goal shooting while adding 7.6 three-pointers and 10.6 offensive rebounds per game. Maryland is allowing only 61 points per game on 38% field-goal shooting while forcing 12.6 turnovers and adding 5.9 steals and 3.9 blocks per game on the defensive end. Maryland is led by Anthony Cowan Jr who’s averaging 16.3 points, 4.3 assists, and one steal per game.
ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI
The Illinois Fighting Illini are averaging 74 points per game on 45% field-goal shooting while adding only 5.5 three-pointers and 10.5 offensive rebounds per game. Illinois is allowing 64 points per game on 40% field goal shooting while forcing 12.1 turnovers and adding 6 steals and three blocks per game on the defensive end. Illinois is led by Ayo Dosunmu who’s averaging 15.8 points, 3.4 assists, and 4 rebounds per game.
MARYLAND vs ILLINOIS PREDICTION
The game played back in December was a mess for Maryland as they came out incredibly weak on their home court and Illinois capitalized. The public is thinking Maryland is going to receive payback from Illinois however Maryland is the better team and I think they learned a hard lesson not coming out as strong as they should have on their home court and in 1st halves, in general, this season. Maryland should show up to play today, especially in the first half considering Illinois has not played since February 2nd they should come out soft. Look for Maryland to keep this game close and cover the spread. Illinois also has Michigan State on Tuesday, who blew them out by 20 points on Jan 2nd so their focus might also be elsewhere.
TRENDS(from covers.com)
MARYLAND
- Terrapins are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
- Under is 6-2 in Terrapins last 8 games as an underdog.
ILLINOIS
- Fighting Illini are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss.
- Under is 4-1 in Fighting Illini last 5 games following a straight up loss.
- Under is 6-2 in Fighting Illini last 8 games as a favorite.
HEAD TO HEAD
- Underdog is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings.
SPORTS BETTING ANGLES:
Bookie Analysis: Maryland +3 / Under 130
Fade the Public: Maryland +3 / no data
Sharp Action: no data / no data
#9 Maryland vs #20 Illinois Prediction & Analysis – College Basketball