Arkansas State vs Illinois Odds, Picks, and Predictions (Nov. 12)
- The Illinois Illini are 20.5-point home favorites over the Arkansas State Red Wolves in an NCAA men’s basketball game slated for Friday, November 12
- Eleventh-ranked Illinois opened with a 71-47 verdict over the Jackson State Tigers
- Arkansas State downed the Harding Bison 81-55 in the school’s season opener
Big things are being expected from the Illinois Illini this season. The same can’t be said for the Arkansas State Red Wolves.
The Illini are defending Big Ten Tournament champions and rated just outside the NCAA top 10 in preseason rankings at #11 in the polls. Arkansas State has yet to post a winning conference campaign in the Sun Belt after four years under current coach Mike Balado.
Even though both teams picked up lopsided season-opening triumphs, oddsmakers are confident that it will be the Illini who continue along their winning ways. Illinois is a 20.5-point favorite. The Illini were 9-2 against the spread as a home favorite last season. That’s a 69.2% cover rate.
Arkansas State vs Illinois Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas State Red Wolves | +2000 | +20.5 (-118) | O 139.5 (-115) |
| Illinois Illini | -7000 | -20.5 (-104) | U 139.5 (-105) |
Odds as of November 11th at FanDuel.
Friday’s tip-off at the State Farm Center is set for 9:00 pm ET.
Short-Staffed Illinois Handles Tigers
Right off the bat, the Illini were required to test their depth in search of victory. In the win over Jackson State, Illinois played without a quartet of prominent contributors.
All-American center Kofi Cockburn was serving the first of a three-game NCAA suspension. Guards Austin Hutcherson (tailbone), Andre Curbelo (concussion protocol) and Trent Frazier (shoulder) were all kept off the floor by injury.
Cockburn and Curbelo are both preseason All-Big Ten picks. Frazier ranks among the top-20 scorers in school history. Yet their absence mattered little in a one-sided 71-47 rout of the Tigers.
Forward Jacob Grandison collected a team-leading 20 points. He finished shooting 7-for-10 from the field. Making his first career start, forward Coleman Hawkins posted 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block. All were career highs. Third-string center Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk pulled down a career-best 10 rebounds in just 21 minutes on the floor.
The Illini flexed their muscles early, racing to 12-0 and 21-2 leads. They scored 18 points off of 20 Jackson State turnovers.
Red Wolves Devour Bison
Getting 21 points from Desi Sills in his Arkansas State debut, the Red Wolves easily dispatched Harding 81-55 in their opener. Norchad Omier scored 15 points and pulled down a dozen boards in the win.
Desi Sills shined in his Arkansas State debut. JHS alum/former Hog had 21 pts.
Red Wolves beat Harding 81-55.
Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Norchad Omier 15 pts, 12 reb, 4 blk, 3 stl, 1 ast. JHS alum Marquis Eaton 10 pts
More on @AStateMB: https://t.co/mEyg8iH48I pic.twitter.com/bKwaCHA3fF
— Chris Hudgison (@ChrisHudgison) November 10, 2021
The Red Wolves rank sixth nationally among all Division I programs in returning minutes (97.1%) and returning scoring (97.9%). Arkansas State also returns 96.6% of rebounds.
Illinois vs Arkansas State Betting Trends
The Red Wolves were 16-16 overall and 8-12 in the Sun Belt last season. KenPom ranks the Red Wolves as the No. 183 Division I school.
Fifth-year senior guard Eaton last season led ASU with 14.3 points per game. Eaton led the Sun Belt in assist rate. Omier is dominant on the glass. He posted 15 double doubles last season. Both Omier (First Team) and Eaton (Second Team) were all Sun Belt selections last season. Big contributions are also expected from guard Sills, an Arkansas transfer.
🏀 College Basketball is Back!#Illini | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/JgfLCbYQbR
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 10, 2021
All of them will need to bring their A+ games if the Red Wolves hope to run with the Illini. Arkansas State is 2-32 dating back to 1949-50 against ranked opponents and 0-11 since 1989-90.
Curbelo, Frazier and Hutcherson are all listed as day-to-day and could be back for this game. The Illini will still be missing Cockburn and his 17.7 PPG and team-high 9.5 RPG lof a year ago, though. Frazier (10.2 PPG) was also a double-digit scorer and Curbelo netted 9.1 PPG. Added to his group is Utah transfer Alfonso Plummer. He scored 13.6 PPG for the Utes last season.
Take the Illini to win big and cover in the first-ever meeting between these two schools.
Pick: Illinois Illini -20.5 (-104)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
