In what should be an incredible College Basketball game, the Illinois Fighting Illini are set to take on the Iowa State Cyclones on Thursday. This is the second game in Boston, as part of the East Region, and the final game of the day on Thursday. This game features the 2nd and 3rd seeds in the region, and two of the top two teams in College Basketball.
The Illinois Fighting Illini are red hot. The Illini have won six straight basketball games. After winning the Big Ten Tournament title, the Illini have wins over Morehead State and Duquesne in the big dance. Illinois is 28-8 on the season.
For Iowa State, they are just as hot. The Cyclones have won five in a row. Iowa State beat Houston in the Big 12 title game, and have wins over South Dakota State and Washington State in the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones are 29-7 on the season.
The Iowa State Cyclones are -2.5 in this game over the Illinois Fighting Illini. The total sits at 146.5 for this game.
Red Hot Orange and Blue
The Fighting Illini have been red hot with their offense. In the Big Ten Tournament, Illinois scored 77, 98 and 93 points. In the NCAA Tournament, they have gone with 85 and 89 points. On the season, the Orange and Blue are scoring 84.6 points per game. The Illini are one of the top rebounding teams in the country as well, with 37.8 per game.
Terrence Shannon Jr is the top scorer on the team. He is scoring more than 23 points per game.
Shannon Jr has gone six straight games with 25+ points in a game. He scored 40 in the Big Ten Tournament win over Nebraska. Marcus Domask is second for the Illini, and Coleman Hawkins is third, with 16.1 and 12.3, respectively.
Illinois finished second in the Big Ten regular season to Purdue. During the non-conference slate, Illinois took losses to Marquette and Tennessee. They lost their first Big Ten game on January 5th on the road at Purdue.
Cyclones Flying High
In the current five game winning streak for Iowa State, they have not allowed more than 65 points in a game. They held Kansas State to 57 and Houston to 41 in the conference tournament. In the big dance so far, the Cyclones are allowing 60.5 points per game.
The scoring for the Cyclones is coming from several places. In the win over Washington State, Tamin Lipsey led the way with 15 points, while Curtis Jones came off the bench and added 14. Keshon Gilbert leads the team with 13.7 per game, while Lipsey is at 12.5.
The Cyclones started November with five straight wins. Their first two losses were to Virginia Tech and Texas A+M in late November. Iowa State then started Big 12 play with a loss on the road at Oklahoma.
Iowa State Moves On
We have one of the best offensive teams in all of College Basketball against one of the best defensive teams in all of College Basketball. The saying is always, “Defense wins championships,” and that is what we are going to go with here.
The Big 12 battle tested the Cyclones a little more than the Big 10 did for the Illini. The Fighting Illini have not beat a team as good as Iowa State yet this season. Take the Cyclones -2.5 over the Fighting Illini.
Best of luck and enjoy this, and all the College Basketball games!
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