Halftime Report

After a tough loss on the road their last time out, Illinois looks much better today on their home court. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead Colgate 44-27.

If Illinois keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 8-2 in no time. On the other hand, Colgate will have to make due with a 6-5 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

Colgate Raiders @ Illinois Fighting Illini

Current Records: Colgate 6-4, Illinois 7-2

How To Watch

What to Know

Colgate has quite the challenge ahead of them as they're expected to be blown off the court. They will head out on the road to face off against the Illinois Fighting Illini at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday at State Farm Center. Colgate will be strutting in after a win while Illinois will be stumbling in from a defeat.

Winning is just a little bit easier when your three-point shooting is a whole 21.3% better than the opposition, a fact Colgate proved last Saturday. They walked away with a 77-71 victory over the Catamounts. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Colgate.

Meanwhile, Illinois unfortunately witnessed the end of their five-game winning streak last Saturday. They took a 86-79 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Volunteers.

Despite the defeat, Illinois had strong showings from Terrence Shannon Jr., who scored 22 points, and Quincy Guerrier, who scored 22 points along with five rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Guerrier has scored all season. Less helpful for Illinois was Marcus Domask's abysmal 0-5 three-point shooting.

The Raiders have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. As for the Fighting Illini, their loss dropped their record down to 7-2.

This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Colgate have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 37.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Illinois (currently ranked fourth in rebounds per game) struggles in that department as they've been averaging 45 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

While only Colgate took care of their fans the last time they played, both teams pleased bettors by covering the spread. Going forward, the game looks promising for Illinois, as the team is favored by a full 17 points. They might be worth a quick bet since they've covered the spread the last five times they've played.

Odds

Illinois is a big 17-point favorite against Colgate, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Fighting Illini as a 16-point favorite.


The over/under is set at 145.5 points.

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