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The top-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini surged into the 2021 NCAA Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the nation and are prohibitive favorites against the No. 16 seed Drexel Dragons in Friday afternoon's Midwest Regional first-round matchup in Indianapolis. Sitting at No. 2 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll and winners of 14 of its last 15, Illinois (23-6) knocked off five ranked opponents during its current seven-game winning streak. The Dragons (12-7) are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 25 years after winning the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament title as the sixth-seed.

Tip-off at Farmers Coliseum is at 1:15 p.m. ET. Friday's winner advances to play either Loyola-Chicago or Georgia Tech in the second round. William Hill Sportsbook lists the Fighting Illini as 22.5-point favorites, while the over-under for total points scored is 143.5 in the latest Illinois vs. Drexel odds. Before making any Drexel vs. Illinois picks, check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of over $2,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. It has also returned almost $500 on all top-rated college basketball picks this season. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Illinois vs. Drexel in the NCAA Tournament 2021. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds and trends for Drexel vs. Illinois:

  • Illinois vs. Drexel spread: Illinois -22.5
  • Illinois vs. Drexel over-under: 143.5 points
  • Illinois vs. Drexel money line: Illinois -7000; Drexel +1600
  • ILL: The Illini have six wins over top-10 teams, tied for the most in Big Ten history
  • DREX: The Dragons have won four in a row and covered the spread in each

Why Illinois can cover 

The Fighting Illini feature a 1-2 punch that few teams can match with the inside-outside tandem of center Kofi Cockburn and guard Ayo Dosunmu. Cockburn was second to Dosunmu in scoring at 17.3 points per game while pulling down a conference-best 9.6 rebounds during the regular season. He had 16 double-doubles and was the only player in the nation to average 15 points and nine rebounds while shooting at least 65 percent from the field.

Dosunmu wore a facemask during the Big Ten Tournament to protect a broken nose he suffered late in the season, but he still averaged 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists during the three-game run to the conference title. He joined Magic Johnson as the only players in Big Ten history to record multiple triple-doubles in conference play. An AP first-team All-American, he has scored in double figures in 41 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the nation.

Why Drexel can cover

The Dragons also rely on a junior guard in Camren Wynter, who averaged team-best totals of 17.6 points and 5.6 assists during the regular season before winning Most Outstanding Player honors in the CAA Tournament. He shot 82.7 percent from the free throw line and 42.5 percent from behind the arc, hitting 6-of-11 3-pointers in the CAA tourney. Mate Okros also is a perimeter threat, burying at least four 3-pointers in three of the last six games.

Drexel will need strong performances from the forward tandem of senior James Butler and sophomore T.J. Bickerstaff, who averaged 12.9 and 10.6 points, respectively. Butler averaged 9.2 rebounds and shot 58.0 percent overall, while notching six double-doubles on the season. Bickerstaff is pulling down an average of 7.8 rebounds over the last four games.

How to make Illinois vs. Drexel picks

The model is leaning over on the total, projecting the teams to combine for 148 points. It also says one side of the spread hits in almost 70 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Drexel vs. Illinois? And which side of the spread hits almost 70 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its college basketball picks.