Illinois welcomes No. 15 Wisconsin to Champaign

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In desperate need of a win, the Illinois Fighting Illini seek an upset of the 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers today in a Big Ten showdown at Assembly.

At 10-7 within the conference, Illinois is already guaranteed a fifth place finish, but is in need of a run to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Once a lock for the Big Dance, the Illini have fallen in four of their last five outings to put them on the so called bubble at 18-12. The team had an opportunity to help its chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, but came up short in a 73-57 loss at nationally-ranked Ohio State.

The Badgers, meanwhile, can finish no worse than fourth in the conference and could even grab a third seed for the upcoming league tourney with a win today and a Michigan State loss to Michigan. Winners of three straight games, including a 67-40 trouncing of Iowa on Wednesday, Wisconsin has earned a first-round bye in the league postseason and is competing for a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

As for the all-time series, Illinois owns a 108-74 advantage over Wisconsin and the Illini handed the Badgers their lone home loss of the season with a 63-56 decision back on February 9th.

The Badgers shot an efficient 54.9 percent from the floor, including a 6-of-12 showing from long range, as they breezed past Iowa earlier in the week. Wisconsin, which broke the game open with an 18-0 run in the first half, also dominated the boards 33-20. Jon Leuer led the way with 18 points on 8-of-9 field goals, while Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon checked in with 15 and 11 points, respectively. For the season, Hughes tops the roster in scoring at 15.4 ppg and he shoots 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. Leuer adds 14.6 ppg and a team-high 5.8 rpg to the mix, while Bohannon tacks on 12.3 ppg on 41.3 percent shooting from three-point range.

The Illini made just 38.3 percent of their attempts from the floor and were outscored at the foul line, 15-4, in a loss at Ohio State this past week. The battle on the boards also went to Ohio State, which held a 41-32 advantage. Demetri McCamey paced the team in defeat with 18 points and seven helpers, while Mike Tisdale had 10 points and four blocks. For the season, McCamey has not only been counted on to lead the team in scoring at 15.1 ppg, but he is also responsible for running the show, dishing off 6.9 apg. Tisdale brings 11.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg to the lineup, while D.J. Richardson chips in with 10.5 ppg. Mike Davis, the team's leading rebounder at 8.8 rpg, gets into the mix with 10.4 ppg as well.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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