College Basketball Handicapping: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Texas Longhorns

Illinois Fighting Illini vs Texas Longhorns
Thursday, 11/18/10, 9:00 PM EDT, TV: ESPN2
Opening Point Spread: Pick
Current Betting Line: Illinois -2

The Texas Longhorns are 2-0 early in the season and now face their first serious test against Illinois on Thursday night

Illinois has compiled a 3-0 record this season and many are not surprised due to the team returning five starters from a team that went to the quarterfinals of the NIT. “One of the things we weren’t very good about last year was extending leads, playing with leads,” Bruce Weber said. The Fighting Illini took a big step in changing that weakness in a 85-63 win over Southern Illinois by starting the second half with a 19-4 run. Offensively, the team is shooting 54.4 percent from the field and is led by Demetri McCamey’s 14.7 points per game in scoring. He is also averaging 8.0 assists through three games after ranking second in the nation in assists last year. The team is 3-0 ATS as a neutral court favorite of three points or less and the NCAA basketball lines page has them giving two points.

The Fighting Illini have six players shooting at least 52 percent from the field and three of those are hitting at a 60 percent clip or better. A key to Illinois season last year was posting a 10-1 record when it made 40 percent of its three pointers, while going 11-14 when falling under that number. The bench has also been a strength in the early going, averaging 33.7 points and outscoring the opponents’ bench by an average of 17.7 points per game. The team has also outrebounded all three opponents and own a +6.3 rebound margin.

Texas comes in with a new offense and has held its first two opponents to an average of 55.0 points per game on 31.5 percent shooting, including a 7-of-37 (.189) mark from three-point range. The Longhorns opponents have combined for 12 assists against 38 turnovers on the season. “The biggest thing is we have a group of guys who have really started to do things we need them to do,” said head coach Rick Barnes. “This is a much different style that we have played in the past. They bought in to it so far, but we know we have a lot of growth ahead of us.” Barnes spent time in Utah studying a new pick-and-roll offense with Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. The team is 8-7 ATS in neutral court games.

The Longhorns will be playing the Illini for a fifth time in this series and both teams have come away with two victories apiece. Texas is also no stranger to the Garden, posting a 4-4 mark in its previous eight contests in the building in the Barnes era entering Thursday night’s game. During his 12 seasons in Austin, Barnes has registered a school-record 50 career victories against AP Top 25 opponents, guiding his team to a 50-60 record against ranked teams.

Bettors will notice that the Fighting Illini are 11-4-1 ATS in their last 16 games versus the Big 12 Conference, while the Longhorns are 4-0 ATS versus the Big Ten.