Houston could have played a virtual home game at the South regional to advance to the Final Four. Instead, the Cougars’ offense completely no-showed, and Illinois seized control of a South region that’s been wonky for a full week now.
Thanks to this game, the Big Ten is guaranteed to have at least one Final Four team. Looking around the other regions of the men’s bracket, it could be a banner year for the Big Ten.
Illinois vs. Iowa Odds
- Point Spread: Illinois -6.5
- Moneyline: Illinois -300Â |Â Iowa +240
- Total: 138.5
Illinois vs. Iowa: NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
As conference mates, Illinois and Iowa have already played this year. But they dodged each other in the Big Ten Tournament and only played once in the regular season – a 75-69 win for the Fighting Illini in Iowa City on Jan. 11.
To the extent that a game from two and a half months ago matters at all, this was a game where Illinois led early and had to hold off a late Iowa charge. The Hawkeyes, who were ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time, shot 31% from behind the arc and attempted six total free throws.
Iowa has won three NCAA Tournament games with an unusual formula. It’s held all three opponents under 72 points, but its starting five has been somewhere between average and good.
Instead, it’s getting outstanding contributions from bench forward Alvaro Folgueiras, who’s scored at least 14 points off the bench in all three games.
That’s a player prop market that could have a lot of potential. At BetMGM, Folgueiras is currently priced at 8.5 points, with the over available at +100.
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