March is here, and while some conference tournaments are getting underway, major conferences are finishing up the final game of their regular season. Make sure you’re keeping your eyes on the DraftKings Sportsbook betting splits when doing your research, available for free on DK Network.
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On Friday night, Purdue and Illinois wrap up Big Ten play in Champaign, battling for NCAA Tournament seeding. Let’s breakdown the game.
Purdue at Illinois (8:00pm ET)
Initially considered a contender in the Big Ten, the Illini got off to a strong start to the season. But injuries started to pile up, and the team went on a skid around the middle on January. As injuries compounded, the team was also hit with an illness, and Illinois wound up going 4-7 over an 11-game period in Big Ten play.
However, the Fighting Illini are now close to fully healthy, and we’ve seen their play also return to form. Off a pair of 20-point victories at home against Iowa, and then as a road underdog at Michigan, Illinois will look to finish off the regular season strong on Friday night, hosting a ranked Purdue squad.
Despite all the speed bumps, the Illini have protected home court well, sitting at 12-4 overall, including 9-6 ATS as a home favorite. Purdue is a gritty team, especially in the backcourt, but have managed an average 5-5 record in true road games. The Boilermakers are 2-3 ATS as road dogs, and have a -6.6-point margin in those five games — failing to cover by 3.3 points per.
Purdue has now dropped its last three road games outright, including losses by nine at Michigan State and 15 at Indiana as a favorite. One of the major keys to that blowout loss at IU was size. The Hoosiers were able to bully the Boilermakers, who no longer have the luxury of dominating the paint with Zach Edey. That doesn’t bode well for them in this spot, going up against a Fighting Illini roster that has good size.
I like a more desperate Illinois team to carry some of its recent momentum into a home victory here to round out the regular season strong. I laid 3.5 in the Betting Group on Thursday night, but still think this is playable at the Friday morning line of 4.5.
College Basketball Pick: Illinois -3.5 (-110) 1-unit
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment.
