Illinois Fighting Illini vs Missouri Tigers Betting Picks & Predictions
Illinois is on the road playing Missouri at the Enterprise Center stadium on Thursday, 12/22/2022 @ 9:00pm EST. Illinois -7 was the opening favorite and current line is
Game outlook
Illinois is on the road playing Missouri at the Enterprise Center stadium on Thursday, 12/22/2022 @ 9:00pm EST. Illinois -7 was the opening favorite and current line is Illinois -6.5.
In St. Louis, Missouri, the Missouri Tigers (10-1) face the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-3) in an SEC vs. Big 10 showdown.
Have they been beating up weaker teams or are they for real?
A soft schedule helped Missouri get off to a 9-0 start after finishing 12-21 last season. Despite losing their first game of the season to No. 6 Kansas (95-67) on December 10, the Tigers beat UCF (68-66) on Saturday thanks to a half court buzzer beater by Milwaukee transfer DeAndre Gholston.
According to KenPom, Missouri ranks 60th out of 50 states. In adjusted offensive efficiency, the Tigers rank 13th. The Tigers rank among the top-100 teams in offensive scoring, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three-point percentage. Five Missouri players average at least 10 points per game, led by 6'4 senior guard D'moi Hodge with 16.4 points per game. According to KenPom's adjusted efficiency, Missouri is 143rd and allows 75 points per game.
Dangerous and balanced
Last season, Illinois finished 23-10 and lost to Houston in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. After beating the No. No. 8 UCLA (79-70) and No. 2 Texas (85-78), the Fighting Illini are off to a strong start. Illinois lost to No. 16 Virginia (70-61), as well as both Big Ten games against No. 22 Maryland 71-66 and Penn State 74-59. Alabama A&M was easily defeated by Illinois on Saturday, 68-47.