Illinois welcomes No. 15 Wisconsin to Champaign

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Champaign, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In desperate need of a win, the Illinois Fighting Illini seek an upset of the 15th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers today in a Big Ten showdown at Assembly.

At 10-7 within the conference, Illinois is already guaranteed a fifth place finish, but is in need of a run to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Once a lock for the Big Dance, the Illini have fallen in four of their last five outings to put them on the so called bubble at 18-12. The team had an opportunity to help its chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday, but came up short in a 73-57 loss at nationally-ranked Ohio State.

The Badgers, meanwhile, can finish no worse than fourth in the conference and could even grab a third seed for the upcoming league tourney with a win today and a Michigan State loss to Michigan. Winners of three straight games, including a 67-40 trouncing of Iowa on Wednesday, Wisconsin has earned a first-round bye in the league postseason and is competing for a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

As for the all-time series, Illinois owns a 108-74 advantage over Wisconsin and the Illini handed the Badgers their lone home loss of the season with a 63-56 decision back on February 9th.

The Badgers shot an efficient 54.9 percent from the floor, including a 6-of-12 showing from long range, as they breezed past Iowa earlier in the week. Wisconsin, which broke the game open with an 18-0 run in the first half, also dominated the boards 33-20. Jon Leuer led the way with 18 points on 8-of-9 field goals, while Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon checked in with 15 and 11 points, respectively. For the season, Hughes tops the roster in scoring at 15.4 ppg and he shoots 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. Leuer adds 14.6 ppg and a team-high 5.8 rpg to the mix, while Bohannon tacks on 12.3 ppg on 41.3 percent shooting from three-point range.

The Illini made just 38.3 percent of their attempts from the floor and were outscored at the foul line, 15-4, in a loss at Ohio State this past week. The battle on the boards also went to Ohio State, which held a 41-32 advantage. Demetri McCamey paced the team in defeat with 18 points and seven helpers, while Mike Tisdale had 10 points and four blocks. For the season, McCamey has not only been counted on to lead the team in scoring at 15.1 ppg, but he is also responsible for running the show, dishing off 6.9 apg. Tisdale brings 11.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg to the lineup, while D.J. Richardson chips in with 10.5 ppg. Mike Davis, the team's leading rebounder at 8.8 rpg, gets into the mix with 10.4 ppg as well.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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