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There’s three pretty pedestrian Top 25 college basketball games on Monday night, with the ranked home team expected to pave their opponent. And if they don’t, you can come right back here and read about it afterwards.
But Notre Dame vs. an Illinois team that won’t be ranked No. 14 anymore if you read this after today’s AP Poll should be interesting. It was not a great start for the Illini this season, who lost to Marquette and Cincinnati on the last two Mondays, with the Bearcats pulling away in a 71-51 embarrassment. But I-L-L got back on track with wins over Kansas State and UT-RGV last week to start to right the ship. But don’t blame center Kofi Cockburn, who is averaging 26.3 points and 10.0 rebounds a game to start the season.
Notre Dame’s only win in the Maui Classic was the free space against Chaminade, but they did face two tough opponents in Saint Mary’s and Texas A&M. Dane Goodwin has played in South Bend so long we think he was recruited by Digger Phelps, but he’s averaging 15.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per outing so far this year.
It’s two teams that need a quality win, as these games could make a big difference by Selection Sunday on the nitty-gritty sheets of the selection committee.
Here are the opening odds for NCAA Men’s Basketball on Monday, November 29th from DraftKings Sportsbook:
NCAA men’s basketball schedule, odds for November 29th
| Time | Visitor | Home | Network | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Visitor | Home | Network | Spread | Total |
| 7:00 PM | Central Michigan | #10 Kentucky | ESPN+/SECN | Kentucky -30 | 146 |
| 8:30 PM | Sam Houston | #8 Texas | LHN | Texas -22 | 129 |
| 9:00 PM | Notre Dame | #14 Illinois | ESPN2 | Illinois -6.5 | 141.5 |
| 10:00 PM | Tarleton | #1 Gonzaga | WCC Sports | Gonzaga -30 | 137.5 |
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