NCAA Tournament Picks: Illinois vs Drexel 3/19/21 College Basketball Picks, Odds, Predictions

The Illinois Fighting Illini meet the Drexel Dragons Friday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament First Round at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

The Drexel Dragons are riding a four-game winning streak and just won the CAA Tournament. The Drexel Dragons are averaging 71.3 points on 47.2 percent shooting and allowing 67 points on 44.3 percent shooting. Camren Wynter is averaging 16.8 points and 5.3 assists while James Butler is averaging 12.9 points and 9.2 rebounds. TJ Bickerstaff is the third double-digit scorer and Zach Walton is grabbing 3.9 rebounds. The Drexel Dragons are shooting 34.1 percent from beyond the arc and 77.6 percent from the free throw line. The Drexel Dragons are allowing 32 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 30.7 rebounds per game.

The Illinois Fighting Illini have won seven straight games and just won the Big Ten Tournament. The Illinois Fighting Illini are averaging 80.7 points on 50 percent shooting and allowing 68.5 points on 40.9 percent shooting. Ayo Dosunmu is averaging 20.9 points and 6.2 rebounds while Kofi Cockburn is averaging 17.6 points and 9.6 rebounds. Trent Frazier is the third double-digit scorer and Andre Curbelo is grabbing 3.9 rebounds. The Illinois Fighting Illini are shooting 38.2 percent from beyond the arc and 68.6 percent from the free throw line. The Illinois Fighting Illini are allowing 33 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 37.5 rebounds per game.

The Dragons are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog and 3-0-1 ATS in their last 4 games overall. The Fighting Illini are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS loss and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The over is 5-1 in Dragons last 6 overall. The under is 29-13-1 in Fighting Illini last 43 Friday games.

Give the Drexel Dragons credit for winning their conference tournament and making it here, but they were 9-7 heading into those games and didn’t really play anybody. Drexel simply isn’t a good basketball team, and its now going up against one of the more talented teams in Illinois basketball history. The Illinois Fighting Illini have the edge everywhere you look and there’s a good chance this is going to be your typical 1-16 matchup that’s over before halftime. I’ll eat the big number with the Fighting Illini.