NCAAB Odds, Pick for Iowa vs Illinois: Double-Digit Margin

A Big Ten rivalry renews Saturday as the Fighting Illini play host to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Expect lots of offense and shoddy defense, which should make for a highly entertaining watch and a game worth betting.

Illinois has won five of its past seven games but will feel like it blew its most recent game at Penn State as it lost after holding an 11-point lead with just over three minutes left. Illinois' offense has been one of the best for months, but the defense hasn't made the strides necessary to be taken seriously at a national level.

The Iowa Hawkeyes picked up their first Quad 1 win of the season over Wisconsin last weekend, then followed it up nicely with another Quad 1 win over Michigan State. Iowa is peaking at the right time and trying to make a late push to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Both teams like to push tempo, shoot 3s and score in bunches without providing much resistance on the defensive end.

Iowa owns the 12th-best offense in college basketball, which is just slightly behind where it has finished in each of the past few seasons. Simply put, this roster lacks the upper-echelon talent to make noise at a national level.

Strong defense is what fans have come to expect from a Fran McCaffery-led program. The Hawkeyes rank 157th in the country in defensive efficiency. However, their biggest weak spot has been guarding the 3-point line, where opponents shoot 35%.

Iowa likes to play fast, which can overwhelm the opponent. Against Illinois though, it is hard to see that happening.

Illinois has a similar profile to Iowa. The Fighting Illini play with the 59th-fastest tempo in college basketball and have an even more elite offense than the Hawkeyes as the Illini rank fifth in the country in offensive efficiency.

Illinois' defense does a great job of limiting 3-point attempts. The Fighting Illini are fifth in college basketball at preventing 3-point attempts as teams shoot just 27% of their shots from 3 against Illinois.

Illinois plays an untraditional lineup that often includes no true center, no true point guard and generates multiple mismatches. That leads to plenty of one-on-one scoring opportunities, but it can also leave Illinois vulnerable inside against opposing bigs. Iowa's frontcourt will need to take advantage of those vulnerabilities to hang in this game.

Illinois should have advantages across the board.

These teams have similar styles, but Illinois has better talent and home-court advantage. Illinois coach Brad Underwood has won five of his past six games against Iowa and will be looking for revenge from last year's close loss. Take the Illini big.

Pick: Illinois -9.5