Free NCAA Hoops Pick: Illinois vs. Iowa CBB Odds
Looking for Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Iowa Hawkeyes NCAA basketball free picks & CBB odds? CBB betting sees the Illini taking on the Hawkeyes on Monday, December 6, 2021, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all college basketball matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NCAA basketball predictions like this Illini Hawkeye matchup.
2021 NCAA Basketball Handicapping
(6-2) Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (7-1)
Date: Monday, December 6, 2021
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Carver-Hawkeye Arena
CBB Moneyline Odds: Illinois +3 / Iowa -3
CBB Betting ATS Odds: Illini +120 / Hawkeyes -140 (Bet Now!)
CBB Betting Total: O/U 152
The Iowa Hawkeyes will be in rebound mode after picking up their first loss of the 2021-22 campaign last time out, A 77 – 70 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers, the Hawkeyes fell to 7 – 1 but a loss to the #2 team in the country brings no shame at all.
The Hawkeyes have enjoyed home cookin’ thus far in 2021 having taken wins from all 6 of their games played here at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa was not invited to any tournaments outside of their participation in the Big Ten ACC Challenge in which they took a road win from Virginia, 75 – 74.
The Illini are carrying a modest 4-game win streak into Iowa City and they are so happy to have Kofi Cockburn back on the floor again. Cockburn, of course, missed the first 3 games of this season and he has shown us that he plans on making everyone know his name for more than that suspension.
Cockburn came back just in time to help the Illini take the consolation game against Kansas State at the Hall of Fame Classic and he has only done a wee bit to help this team since.
You may not see his name yet on the NCAA Basketball Scoring Leaderboard but that is just paperwork. The dude is putting up 24 PPG since returning to the lineup and that would have him 3rd in the nation if he were eligible. That will change soon enough, however, as he will be appearing on that board with a few more games in his pocket
Illinois Fighting Illini
Welcome back Mr. Cockburn, your limo is waiting! Hmm hmm, break out the stretchy too because the dude has navigated his way to an impressive 24 points average from his first 5 outings of the year. None of us need to address what he went through because he served the 3-game suspension and can now just concentrate on the hardwood.
That is a good thing because you won’t miss #21 on the floor in orange and white tonight. The 7-foot junior from Jamaica has plenty of senior leadership around him and all of them contribute to the fray every night.
All 4 seniors on this roster are guards and they can all clearly see how to get the ball to #21 on top of producing their own numbers. How about Austin Hutcherson being one of those payers?
Hutcherson finally gets his chance to compete for the Illini after 2 years of sitting out of the game. First, the year he transferred he had to sit the season, and last year he never made it to the court with the back injury. Hopefully, he starts to get more minutes than the 15 per game he is getting now, but that’s okay because there is plenty in place for Head Coach Brad Underwood.
Underwood is in year 5 with a program that is coming off back-to-back 20-win campaigns so we expect this team to be competitive all season. Yes, they lost a bit of talent in the off-season with Ayo Dosunmu moving on, but the emphasis on the glass is obvious for this team this year.
You see the rankings and rebounding numbers feature the Illini all over the top spots in college hoops. Illinois is the 10th best team in the land on the offensive glass and they are just outside the top-30 in defensive grabs.
The obvious presence of Cockburn is one thing, but you see that up and down this roster guys have rebounding numbers. Let’s just say that everyone on this team is around the boards and you will see it for yourself on Monday night if you tune in for this Beg Ten tilt on Monday night.
Iowa Hawkeyes
Damnit, I did it again, didn’t I? I am sorry but I love this sport and I am so wrapped up in it that I could write 5,000 words a game, man!
Anyway, Iowa is so damn solid and if you want to talk about how to utilize your entire roster, let’s talk about what Fran McCaffery does with his program.
Bench players? Wait, you mean the guys who don’t start, right? Yeah, no one cares and no one on this entire roster cares who starts and who contributes because EVERYONE DOES! Yes, I used caps to emphasize the fact that Coach McCaffery looks down his bench and will insert anyone who catches his eye at any given moment.
You see it on the team stats and then you watch them play and it’s like, all right, I think we will see everyone who has a jersey on tonight on the floor. It’s like that and depth is massive in this sport when you actually have it and not just talk about it. Sure, no team ultimately needs to go 14-deep and most coaches just want their core-8 or 9 guys that they can rely on night after night.
McCaffery has just as big a weapon in scoring as the Illini do with Cockburn and that comes in the form of Keegan Murray! Oh, all Mr. Murray is doing is averaging 24.6 PPG sitting at #2 in the nation in scoring.
The 6-8 Sophomore forward is just a rebound away from putting up a double-double average, and I think he has improved just a bit from last year, but only a bit… (Sarcasm to the nth degree)
So, does anyone remember the 7 points and 5 boards a night guy that Murray was in his first year in college? Yeah, the Sophomore slump need not apply here because he so obviously worked on his size, his game, and his attitude towards being a leader in 2021-22.
And then there are the other 4 guys on this team averaging double-digits a night for the 4th ranked offense in NCAA that puts up a mere 91 points per game. pffft!
And then the rest of the bench that comes in to relieve all of them that produces rebounds and points and then, and then and then … Yeah, GOOD LUCK with Iowa this season if they are on your schedule!
CBB Betting Trends:
- Over is 4-0 in Fighting Illini’s last 4 overall.
- Over is 7-1 in Hawkeyes’ last 8 home games.
- Over is 8-2 in Hawkeyes’ last 10 overall.
- Over is 5-2 in Hawkeyes last 7 Monday games.
- The home team is 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
Free Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Iowa Hawkeyes NCAAB Betting Prediction:
Iowa 82 – Illini 75… Just enough to sneak in that Over and just enough for Iowa to cover the chalk.
4* Free CBB Betting Pick: Iowa -3 & Over 152
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