The No. 1 seed Illinois Fighting Illini (23-6) and the No. 16 seed Drexel Dragons (12-7) will meet on Friday at 1:15 PM ET in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Illinois is a 22.5-point favorite in the contest, which airs on TBS. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of this 1-16 matchup in the Midwest Region bracket.
The betting insights and predictions in this article reflect betting data from FanDuel as of March 16, 2021, 12:10 AM ET.
Betting Odds
| Favorite | Spread | Favorite Spread Odds | Underdog Spread Odds | Total | Over Total Odds | Under Total Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | -22.5 | -116 | -106 | 144.5 | -116 | -106 |
Keys to the Game for Illinois
- Illinois has a 17-9-1 record against the spread this season.
- The Fighting Illini have fared well as a 22.5-point favorite, going 2-0 against the spread when favored by at least 22.5 points.
- The Fighting Illini have gone over the point total the majority of the time, in 15 of 27 games (55.6%).
Against the Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
Illinois Leaders
- The leader in points and assists for the Fighting Illini is Ayo Dosunmu, who scores 20.7 points and dishes out 5.3 assists per game.
- Kofi Cockburn leads Illinois in rebounding, pulling down 9.6 boards per game while also scoring 17.6 points a contest.
- Trent Frazier makes more threes per game than any other member of the Fighting Illini, knocking down shots from beyond the arc at a clip of 1.9 per contest.
- Frazier is Illinois’ leader in steals, averaging 1.3 steals per game, while Cockburn leads them in blocks with 1.2 per contest.
Keys to the Game for Drexel
- Drexel has covered the spread in more than half of its outings, going 11-5 ATS.
- Drexel and its opponents have hit the over in more than half of their matchups this year — 9 of 17 (52.9%).
Against the Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
Drexel Leaders
- Camren Wynter holds the top spot on the Dragons scoring and assist lists, tallying 16.8 points and 5.3 assists per game.
- James Butler takes the top spot on the Dragons rebounding leaderboard, averaging 9.2 boards per game while adding 12.9 points per game.
- Mate Okros makes more threes per game than any other member of the Dragons, cashing in 1.9 treys per game.
- Nobody on Drexel grabs more steals than Matey Juric (1.0 per game) or blocks more shots than Butler (0.8 per game).
Computer Picks
Pick ATS:
Dragons (+22.5)
Pick OU:
Over (144.5)
Prediction: Illinois 81, Drexel 63
Predictions are calculated by a data-driven algorithm (raw power score) that ranks head-to-head matchup results within a closed network of games. Prediction confidence is determined by the delta between each team’s raw power score.
Last 5 Games
| Illinois | Drexel | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | Date | Opponent | Result | Score |
| 3/14/2021 | Ohio State | Win | 91-88 | 3/9/2021 | Elon | Win | 63-56 |
| 3/13/2021 | Iowa | Win | 82-71 | 3/8/2021 | Northeastern | Win | 74-67 |
| 3/12/2021 | Rutgers | Win | 90-68 | 3/7/2021 | Charleston (SC) | Win | 80-75 |
| 3/6/2021 | Ohio State | Win | 73-68 | 2/26/2021 | JMU | Win | 84-78 |
| 3/2/2021 | Michigan | Win | 76-53 | 2/7/2021 | Hofstra | Loss | 79-74 |
Against The Spread (ATS) records are only reflective of games that had odds on them.
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