Chattanooga Mocs vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/18/2022

Game Time: 6:50 pm ET, Friday, March 18, 2022

Venue:  PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA

Where to Watch:  TNT

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Chattanooga +8, Illinois -8; Over/Under:  135.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Chattanooga +7.5, Illinois -7.5; Over/Under:  135.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Chattanooga +7.5, Illinois -7.5; Over/Under:  135.5 points

 

Chattanooga Mocs:  27-7 (1st place, Southern)

Illinois Fighting Illini:  22-9 (2nd place, Big Ten)

 

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Chattanooga Mocs:  5-0 last 5

Illinois Fighting Illini:  3-2 last 5

 

 

 

Chattanooga is coming into this game with a 27-7 record overall and they are 3-0 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. Their last loss was against the VMI Keydets but they have gone on a 5 game winning streak since then with wins coming against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, the Samford Bulldogs, the Citadel Bulldogs, the Wofford Terriers, and the Furman Paladins in their last game. Silvio De Sousa led the team in points in that game with 17 while David Jean-Baptiste was next on the team with 13 points. Darius Banks led the team in assists in that game with 6 while De Sousa led the team in rebounds with 14. They are 46.9% from the field, 34.6% from 3-point range, and 75.2% from the free throw line with their shooting this season. Their offense is averaging 74.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 64.7 PPG against them. Chattanooga has an ATS record of 17-15 this season and their O/U record is 17-15.

 

 

Illinois is coming into this game with a 22-9 record overall and they are 2-2 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 3 of their last 4 games but are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game which snapped a 3 game winning streak that they were on. Their 3 wins in that span were against the Michigan Wolverines, the Penn State Nittany Lions, and the Iowa Hawkeyes while their loss came against the Indiana Hoosiers in their last game. Kofi Cockburn led the team in points in that game with 23 while Coleman Hawkins was next on the team with 18 points. Trent Frazier led the team in assists in that game with 6 while Cockburn and André Curbelo off the bench both led the team in rebounds with 10 each. They were 35.7% from the field, 36.4% from 3-point range, and 65.2% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 75.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 67.6 PPG against them. Illinois has an ATS record of 13-18 this season and their O/U record is 17-14.

 

Illinois is coming into this game as an 8 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Illinois is coming off of a loss in their last game in the Big Ten tourney but they finished off their season with 3 straight wins and have been playing well in their games. They have not been winning their games by double digits recently but they have also run into some stronger teams in their conference and have still come out of those games with the wins. They have been feeding on a lot of the bad opponents in their conference this season though and they have won a lot of their games by double digits. They are going up against a Chattanooga side that is not a bad team but they do play in a much weaker conference and even though they have been winning a lot of games there recently, they have been winning in very close games and if they cannot win convincingly against their conference opponents then they are going to have slim chances against a top 25 team in the nation here. Illinois has a lot of talent on their team and they should be well rested with the layoff they have had. They have dealt with a lot of injuries this season but they finally look to be in good shape here and they should be able to blow by Chattanooga in this game no problem. Illinois will win this game and cover the spread here.

 

Chattanooga Illinois Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Friday, March 18, 2022 (6:50 pm ET start time) is Illinois 84 Chattanooga 67.

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Chattanooga Mocs: 49-34 ATS in all games. 24-15 ATS when the total is 130 to 139.5. 10-5 OVER when the total is 130 to 139.5.

Illinois Fighting Illini: 11-16 ATS as a favorite. 4-12 ATS after a game committing 8 or less turnovers. 32-15 OVER in a neutral court game where the total is 130 to 139.5.

 

 

Chattanooga Mocs:  None.

Illinois Fighting Illini:  B. Bosmans-Verdonk (F) Ques Fri - Concussion. J. Grandison (G) Ques Fri - Shoulder injury. A. Hutcherson (G) out for season - Hernia.

 

 

"It was surreal. I knew I had four seconds left, tried to put myself in the best position possible just to get the shot up and it felt like it took forever for the ball to reach the basket.” - David Jean-Baptiste on his game winning shot over Furman in the Southern tourney finals.

 

 

"I thought Coleman would be open in the corner for a 3. But we had some confusion down there. I made a bad decision. I'm disappointed in myself. I've got to make a better decision." - Trent Frazier after their loss against Indiana in the Big Ten tourney.

 

 

 

D. Banks 

S. De Sousa 

K. Hankton 

D. Jean-Baptiste

M. Smith

 

K. Cockburn

T. Frazier 

J. Grandison 

A. Plummer

D. Williams

 

 

PPG: M. Smith (20.3)

APG: M. Smith (3.2)

Reb/G: S. De Sousa (6.8)

 

PPG: K. Cockburn (21)

APG: T. Frazier (4)

Reb/G: K. Cockburn (10.6)

 

Coaches:

Chattanooga Mocs: Lamont Paris (5th season)

Illinois Fighting Illini: Brad Underwood (5th season)