An emotional week comes to an end for the Cavaliers in the Illinois vs Virginia matchup. UVA had a mass shooting on their campus last Sunday that resulted in the death of three football players, but basketball proved to be good therapy as the Cavaliers knocked off #5 Baylor 86-79 on Friday in the opener of the Continental Tire Main Event in Las Vegas. The Fighting Illini knocked off #8 UCLA 79-70 to punch their ticket to Sunday’s championship.
Before Betting on Illinois vs Virginia
It’s early in the season, but UVA’s 86-79 win over Baylor was very uncharacteristic. This is a team that likes to grind things out on offense (even though they scored 89 vs Monmouth) and rely on suffocating defense to get wins. UVA had allowed just 51.5 ppg in their first two games prior to giving up nearly 80 to Baylor.
Make no mistake the Bears have a good squad, but they’re also backcourt heavy which is the strength of the Cavaliers’ defense. Illinois has a lot more frontcourt depth with 6’10” Coleman Hawkins and 6’9″, 270 pound Dain Dainja who had 13 points in 18 minutes against UCLA.
Illinois was down 37-28 at the half to UCLA on Friday before Terrence Shannon, Jr. absolutely went off to finish 8-9 from three point range for 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Armaan Franklin had 26 in the opener for Virginia against Baylor so we could see a nice back-and-forth battle here.
Fighting Illini vs Cavaliers NFL Offshore Betting Odds
| Offshore Sportsbook | Moneyline | Total | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetOnline | Illinois (1.87) | Virginia (1.95) | 132.5 | Illinois -1 (1.9) | Virginia +1 (1.9) |
| Bovada | Illinois (1.83) | Virginia (2.00) | 133 | Illinois -1 (1.9) | Virginia +1 (1.9) |
| BetUS | Illinois (OFF) | Virginia (OFF) | 133.5 | Illinois -1 (1.9) | Virginia +1 (1.9) |
| SportsBetting.ag | Illinois (1.87) | Virginia (1.95) | 132.5 | Illinois -1 (1.9) | Virginia +1 (1.9) |
| Pinnacle | Illinois (1.89) | Virginia (1.96) | 132.5 | Illinois -1 (1.91) | Virginia +1 (1.93) |
| MyBookie | Illinois (1.85) | Virginia (1.98) | 133 | Illinois -1 (1.9) | Virginia +1 (1.9) |
Illinois vs Virginia Prediction & Pick
Baylor has a lot of replacing to do this year with four key players gone – one of which (Matthew Mayer) transferred to Illinois. That’s probably a big reason the Cavaliers got the win on Friday not to mention UVA got hot shooting 56% from the field. Illinois has more depth and looks to have something special brewing.
