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The Iowa State Cyclones meet the Illinois Fighting Illini at TD Garden on Thursday. The showdown is one of many close-looking matches on paper in the Sweet Sixteen. In our latest NCAAB betting picks, we tell you which school will make it to the Elite Eight.
- What: 2024 NCAA Men’s Tournament – Sweet Sixteen
- Who: Iowa State Cyclones (2) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (3)
- Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
- When: Thursday, March 28th, 2024
- Tip-Off: 9.09 pm ET
No fewer than 12 top-four seeds have made it to the Sweet Sixteen stage of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tournament. No.2 seed Iowa State (29-7) and the No.3 seeded Illinois (28-8) are two of the 12 schools, and they will clash in the iconic surroundings of TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday.
Betting to win the Men’s 2024 NCAA Basketball Championship
Only the big guns are left now, meaning the betting to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament is hotting up.
The favorite with the best March Madness betting sites is the UConn Huskies at +215. The second favorite is Houston at +500, with Purdue at +650 and Arizona at +850.
No.1 seeded North Carolina is next at +1000, ahead of Tennessee and Marquette at +1400. The Iowa State Cyclones are next in the betting at +2000. The Fighting Illini are +2500, the same odds as Gonzaga, Duke, and Creighton.
Outside the betting favorites are Alabama at +4000, San Diego at +8000, and Clemson and NC State, who are both +10000.
Betting to win the East Region
In regional betting, both schools find themselves competing with the mighty UConn to win the East Region.
The Huskies lead the way with the best college basketball betting sites at -250. UConn was -150 after Round One. But have seen their odds further trimmed after a Second Round 75-58 win over the Northwestern Wildcats.
Behind the Huskies are Iowa State at 425. The Fighting Illini are +625, and San Diego State is +1400.
Iowa State vs. Illinois: March Madness Match Betting
Onto the betting to win the Sweet Sixteen showdown, and it’s close in the latest odds between the two schools. On the money line, the No.2 seed, Iowa State, is the favorite at -150. Illinois is +125.
On the handicap spread, the Fighting Illini are receiving a 2.5-point advantage. To win with the spread, Illinois is -110. While to win and cover the 2.5-point spread, the Cyclones are -110.
The total points amount is 146.5, with over and under both at -110. More betting options are available on our college basketball odds table. For our odds, we only use the top-rated NCAA basketball betting sites.
| Iowa State vs. Illinois |  |  |  |
| Iowa State | -150 | -150 | -150 |
| Illinois | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Iowa State (-2.5) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Illinois (+2.5) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Over 146.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 146.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Iowa State vs. Illinois: Latest Form
The Iowa State Cyclones finished second in the Big 12 with a conference record of 13-5. Overall, this season, they are 29-7, following their second-round March Madness win over WA State.
In the postseason tournament, the Cyclones started with an 82-65 win over South Dakota State in the first round. The second round saw them face off against Washington State. After a tight first half finished at 27 points each, the Cyclones put their foot down in the second period, eventually running out 67-56 winners.
The vibes in the Iowa State locker room are HIGH after their big win to advance to the Sweet 16 🔥#MarchMadness @CycloneMBB pic.twitter.com/AsYUFa1YEv
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2024
The Fighting Illini finished second in the Big Ten with a 14-6 conference record. They are currently at 28-8 overall this season following a comfortable 89-63 win over the Duquesne Dukes in the second round following an inspired performance by Marcus Domask.
A reminder: This is Marcus Domask’s first NCAA Tournament.@marcusdomask posted 22 points and 7 assists against Duquesne.#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/9zu70zJRvd
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 24, 2024
In the opening round of the competition, Illinois defeated the Morehead State Eagles 85-69. The first half was tight, finishing 39-38 to the Illini. But they punished a tiring Eagles’ side in the second period, outscoring them by 15 points to finish with a routine victory.
Iowa State vs. Illinois: Our Picks
Let’s start by naming a pick in the over and under spread.
On ten occasions this season, matches involving the Cyclones have seen more than 146.5 points scored. As for the Fighting Illini, over 146.5 has been covered in their matches 26 times.
The two teams’ combined match average is just over 160. Way over the predicted spread. And in their combined four matches in the March Madness, they have covered this amount on three occasions.
On the record of the Fighting Illini alone we would select over 146.5 points for our pick.
For our pick to win the match, we have to go for the Fighting Illini.
Terrence Shannon Jr, Illinois is one of the in-form players in the NCAA. His scoring has been phenomenal this season, averaging over 23 points a game, the third-highest in the NCAA. On the same team as Marcus Domask, Illinois is more than dangerous.
Our pick to win the match is the Illinois Fighting Illini at +125 on the money line.
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