The Arizona Wildcats and the Illinois Fighting Illini meet Saturday in college basketball action from State Farm Center. Arizona is rolling along at 8-0 this year and coming off a win over Wyoming. As for the Illini, they’re sitting at 7-2. Illinois beat Iowa in their last game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Arizona hasn’t really had much trouble so far this year; only one game has been close. The Wildcats have gone through Northern Arizona, UTRGV, North Dakota State, Wichita State, Michigan, Sac State, Oregon State and Wyoming in their first eight.
In the Wyoming matchup, the Wildcats surged to a 53-22 halftime advantage, then put it in cruise control from there for a 94-65 win. Bennedict Mathurin was tops in scoring with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Arizona.
Over on the Illini side, they went 2-2 over their first four games with losses to Marquette and Cincinnati. Illinois has since won their last five, taking out Kansas State, UTRGV, Notre Dame, Rutgers and Iowa in that stretch.
On Monday versus Iowa, the Illini carried a 39-36 edge into halftime and were able to hang on for an eventual 87-83 victory. Both Alfonso Plummer and Jacob Grandison scored 21 points apiece, combining for five rebounds and three assists.
The Illini are 5-0 ATS in the last five Saturday games and 7-3 ATS in the last 10 after an ATS win. The over is 4-0 in Illinois’ last four at home.
Meanwhile, Arizona is 16-35-1 ATS in their last 52 Saturday games and 4-0 ATS in their last four overall. The Wildcats are 5-1 ATS in the last six after an ATS win.
PICK: I’m going with Arizona. The Wildcats are coming off another great performance against Wyoming, shooting 52.8 percent from the floor with 42 rebounds and 23 team assists. Arizona has really only had one close game this year, a four-point win over Wichita State.
As for the Illini, they had a great rebounding outing (52) against Iowa, but also coughed up 18 turnovers to the Hawkeyes’ four. I don’t think Illinois will have such an easy time against Arizona.