Illinois Fighting Illini at Marquette Golden Eagles Betting Preview

Two college basketball teams that are 2-0 face off on Monday night.

The Illinois Fighting Illini face off against the Marquette Golden Eagles. This game is sure to be an entertaining one, especially with how similar each of these teams is. However, you can only pick one of these teams at the sportsbook on Monday. Is Illinois the best bet to win this one?

Marquette finds themselves an 8.5-point underdog in this game. The team is led by Darryl Morsell, the team-leading scorer.

They’ll need a high output from Morsell on Monday night if they want to beat Illinois. However, their recent wins weren’t necessarily against teams of the same caliber as Illinois.

So, should Marquette be the team you take to cover the spread?

Illinois Fighting Illini: Keys to victory on Monday

Illinois is the 11th ranked team in the country, and they’ve had a hot start to the season. Kicking off the year 2-0 is a tough task for any college basketball team. One of the reasons that Illinois has been able to have this start is due to their incredible defense.

The Illinois defense only surrenders an average of 50.0 points per game. This is one of the best defenses in the country.

Along with their defense, another key to an Illinois win is getting their offense going early. If they can score in transition, it’ll help their case even more. They aren’t a very good team when shooting from beyond the arc, something they need to work on.

The only unfortunate thing in this game is that Illinois is minus 8.5 points. Still, this is a team worth having confidence in.

Marquette Golden Eagles: Keys to victory on Monday

The Golden Eagles are looking to pull off a huge upset over Illinois on Monday. Marquette has started the year off 2-0 and has one of the best guards in the nation. For Marquette to win this game, they’ll need an incredible showing from Darryl Morsell.

However, scoring points against the Illinois Fighting Illini is no easy task. Still, Marquette looks to accomplish it.

One of the ways they can do this is by getting Morsell great looks. As a team, they’re terrible at shooting from beyond the arc, averaging 26.42% per game. If they want any chance at beating Illinois, getting Morsell better looks from the three-point line is necessary.

However, Morsell won’t be able to win this game on his own. He’ll need help from his teammates.

Our pick for Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Marquette Golden Eagles

After looking at what each team brings to this game, our choice to win is the Illinois Fighting Illini. They shoot better from beyond the arc and play incredible defense. They’re also performing at a high level this season, winning each of their games by nearly thirty points.

Marquette is slightly in over their head here, and it will show on Monday night. Illinois is 8-3 against the spread in their last 11 games, so they should have no problem here. Take Illinois to win this game and cover the 8.5-point spread.

Dunkelindex Free Betting Pick: Illinois -8.5, UNDER

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