Indiana vs. Western Illinois - 11/5/19 College Basketball Pick, Odds, and Prediction
Photo by Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Western Illinois Leathernecks (0-0) at Indiana Hoosiers (0-0)
College Basketball: Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 7:00 pm (Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall)
The Line: Indiana Hoosiers -21.5 -- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Western Illinois Leathernecks and Indiana Hoosiers meet Tuesday in college basketball action at the Assembly Hall.
The Western Illinois Leathernecks are coming off a 10-win season that ended with them losing eight of their last 10 games. Kobe Webster returns after averaging 17 points and 3.1 assists while C.J. Duff averaged 10.8 points and 1.6 assists. Ben Pyle returns after averaging 3.8 rebounds and Zion Young played 17.1 minutes per game last season. The Western Illinois Leathernecks have a lot of returning production from a year ago and their best player in Webster, so there’s really no reason for them not to be drastically improved. Of course, it’s been a while since Western Illinois has had a winning season, so this is a chance to get the ship steered in the right direction. The Western Illinois Leathernecks have lost 10 of their last 11 road games.
The Indiana Hoosiers hope to build on their 19-win season that ended in the NIT quarterfinals. Devonte Green returns after averaging 9.4 points and three assists while Al Durham averaged 8.3 points and 1.9 rebounds. Justin Smith is back after grabbing 4.5 rebounds per game and Rob Phinisee played 27.3 points as a freshman. Indiana says goodbye to some of their top players from last season, but it returns the depth of key role players and the addition of 5-star recruit Trayce Jackson-Davis certainly makes up for any lost production. Indiana has been itching to get back to the glory days, and while it won’t be easy to take that next step, this has a chance of being a fun and highly production season with a potential star leading the way. The Indiana Hoosiers have won five of their last six home games.
The Leathernecks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games, 3-10 ATS in their last 13 road games and 7-15-1 ATS in their last 23 games overall. The Hoosiers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 home games, 5-12-1 ATS in their last 18 Tuesday games and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The under is 12-5 in Hoosiers last 17 home games. The under is 6-2 in Leathernecks last 8 road games.
The Indiana Hoosiers obviously have more talent and are entering this season with increased expectations, but Western Illinois has a lot of key returning players and isn't going to just rollover in its season opener. The Western Illinois Leathernecks are experienced, have a really good player in Webster, who is from Indiana, and they played a tough out of conference schedule last season. I'll gladly take all of the points with the Leathernecks.
Randy’s Pick Western Illinois Leathernecks +21.5
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
Mitch's Take...
