So far, it has been an inconsistent season for head coach Brad Underwood and Illinois. It is true that Underwood has had to deal with a vastly different roster. He is missing key players from last year’s team. But fans and gamblers were expecting a lot more. From a gambling perspective, Illinois is not providing enough College Basketball odds board value. Especially now that the tougher conference games are in earnest. This week Illinois has a dangerous game at the improved Nebraska Cornhuskers. Following that is a home game against the perennial Big Ten power Michigan State Spartans.
2022-23 Fighting Illini
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Illinois Fighting Illini National Championship Odds at SBG | +3000 |
2022-23 Fighting Illini SBG Odds Overview
Overall, Illinois is 10-5 straight up, 8-7 against the spread, and 7-8 over/under the sportsbook total. Illinois has national rankings of 75th for scoring offense, 102nd for field goal percentage, 201st for 3-point field goal percentage, 312th for free throw percentage, and 31st for offensive rebounding. While defensively, Illinois has national rankings of 66th for scoring defense, 29th for field goal percentage permitted, 159th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 105th for defensive rebounding.
Late on, the Illini have paid in two of their last three games following a bad stretch. Four of their previous six games went under the total. Terrance Shannon Jr leads with 17.6 points per game.
2022-23 Fighting Illini Team Analysis
Overall, it’s been quite a progression for Illinois since Brad Underwood arrived on campus. Underwood has turned Illinois into one of the league’s most consistent winners. Despite inheriting a flawed roster and a program stuck in the doldrums. The team has quickly compiled three straight seasons with at least 20 wins. And what would have been three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
Unfortunately, that success hasn’t necessarily brought home as much hardware as fans might have hoped. Last year, Illinois grabbed a share of the Big Ten title. Also, they won the 2021 Big Ten Tournament. However, both titles were followed by disappointing NCAABB betting finishes in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois fell short in the Round of 32 each season.
Yet again, Illinois is expected to contend at the top of the Big Ten. And for significant things in March. But this is a “new look” Illini team. Players like Andre Curbelo, Trent Frazier, and Kofi Cockburn exited last spring. However, there’s still more than enough talent to make some noise this season. Thanks largely to a few massive incoming transfers and true freshman Skyy Clark.
Last season was a successful one in Champaign. Illinois put together a banner campaign. Despite two early missteps and a disappointing 2-2 record to start the season. The team won the Big Ten regular season title, earned another NCAA Tournament bid, and advanced to the Round of 32 once it got there. In sum, Illinois finished the season with a 23-10 record against the 17th toughest slate in the country. But a few close losses in conference play and two defeats in March turned what might have been a tremendous season into simply a good one. The early missteps prevented Illinois from getting one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament. And then the Big Ten losses prevented Illinois from getting an outright Big Ten title. At the same time, the losses to Indiana and Houston in the postseason stopped a truly memorable year.