Opening Spread, Moneyline & Total for Illinois vs VCU in Round of 32
By Sascha Paruk in College Basketball
Updated: March 20, 2026 at 12:20 am EDTPublished:
- The #11 VCU Rams will face the #3 Illinois Fighting Illini in the second round
- The Illini have opened as sizable betting favorites
- See the Illinois vs VCU odds, including spread, total, and moneyline for March 21
The #11VCU Rams (28-7, 18-17 ATS) and #3 Illinois Fighting Illini (24-8, 18-14 ATS) will meet in the second round of the 2026 March Madness bracket on Saturday, March 21 (tip-off time TBD).
Illinois’ offense overwhelmed Penn on Thursday – routing the Lions 105-65 thanks to 65 second-half points – and it’s that potent attack that has the Illini favored over the Rams in the round of 32.
Illinois vs VCU Odds & Spread
The Illini have opened as 9.5-point ATS favorites and -455 on the moneyline. The Rams come back as +350 underdogs. The game total has opened at 155.5 with -110 odds both ways.
Both teams hit the over on Thursday, though the Rams needed OT to get there. VCU came back from an 11-point halftime deficit to upset shorthanded #6 North Carolina (82-78 OT) as 2.5-point underdogs. They fell half a point short of the 150.5-point total in the first 40 minutes.
Illinois and Penn flew past their 150.5-point total, combining for 175 points.
Odds as of 11:55 pm ET, March 19th. See the full list of DraftKings legal states.
VCU vs Illinois Team Stats Comparison
These schools have only met once before back in 2016. Illinois won by 18 on a neutral-court in Miami.
Bookmark SBD’s college basketball odds page to see up-to-the-minute lines for every NCAA Tournament game.
Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.
