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USA Today
21-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
March Madness: Xavier vs. Illinois odds, picks and predictions
The 11th-seeded Xavier Musketeers (22-11) and sixth-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini (21-12) meet in an NCAA Tournament first-round game in the Midwest Region Friday. Tip-off from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee is scheduled for 9:45 p.m. ET (CBS). Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's lines around the Xavier vs. Illinois odds, and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions. Xavier shook off a slow start to take down the Texas Longhorns 86-80 in a First Four game on Wednesday night, outscoring the Longhorns 47-33 in the second half. The Musketeers covered as a 2.5-point favorite as the Over (151.5) hit. G Marcus Foster led the charge with 22 points and 8 rebounds as Xavier has now won at least 1 game in its last 6 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Illinois returns to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year after last season's Elite 8 run. The Fighting Illini finished the regular season strong with 3 straight wins, including 2 over ranked opponents, before tying for seventh in the Big Ten. Their conference tournament run ended with an 88-65 loss to the Maryland Terrapins in the quarterfinals. Freshman G Kasparas Jakucionis leads 5 players averaging in double figures at 15 points per game (PPG). – Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Men's Basketball Coaches Poll THE BRACKETS ARE BACK! The USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back! $1 MILLION grand prize for a perfect bracket, $25,000 prize for top bracket. Free to enter, 21+. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See Official Rules. Play now! Xavier vs. Illinois odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 10:36 p.m. ET. Moneyline (ML) : Xavier +135 (bet $100 to win $135) | Illinois -160 (bet $160 to win $100) : Xavier +135 (bet $100 to win $135) | Illinois -160 (bet $160 to win $100) Against the spread (ATS) : Xavier +3.5 (-115) | Illinois -3.5 (-105) : Xavier +3.5 (-115) | Illinois -3.5 (-105) Over/Under (O/U): 160.5 (O: -105 | U: -115) Can you survive? USA TODAY Sports' Men and Women's Basketball Tournament Survivor Pools are here with a $2,500 prize for each contest! Free to enter, 21+. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See Official Rules. Play now! Xavier vs. Illinois picks and predictions Prediction Xavier 82, Illinois 79 BET XAVIER (+135). Momentum is huge in college basketball, and Xavier has plenty of it. The Musketeers showed their toughness with a comeback win over Texas in the First Four, making it 8 wins in their last 9 games. They've also covered the spread in 7 of those. Experience matters in March, and they've got it with fifth-year senior F Zach Freemantle leading the way at 17.3 PPG. Xavier can score too, putting up 78 PPG—second-best in the Big East. Illinois might be the Big Ten's top-scoring team at 83.8 PPG, but they've struggled against good defenses—Maryland held them to just 65 in the Big Ten Tournament. Plus, their top 3 scorers are either freshmen, or playing in their first year of college ball. That's a lot of inexperience to lean on in a high-pressure game. With Xavier playing great basketball, having the edge in experience, and consistently covering spreads, I like them to keep it rolling. Taking the Musketeers at plus odds on the moneyline feels like the right move. PASS. You may feel more comfortable taking them plus the points, that's understandable. I'd take the better odds on the moneyline. BET OVER 160.5 (-105). Both teams know how to score, which makes the Over worth a look. Illinois has hit the Over in 7 of its last 10 games, while Xavier has gone Over in 11 of its last 14 contests. The Musketeers put up 78 PPG, and the Fighting Illini haven't been great defensively, giving up 74.6 PPG — 14th in the Big Ten. Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Follow @DrewPhelps05 on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook. College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group: Alabama / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Duke / Florida / Florida State / Georgia / Iowa / Kentucky / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / UCLA / USC / Washington / Wisconsin / College Sports Wire / High School / Recruiting
CNN
20-03-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Xavier completes thrilling comeback, Mount St. Mary's advances as men's First Four comes to a close
Wednesday saw the men's First Four come to a close which means only one thing: the 64-team bracket is officially set following No. 11 Xavier's thrilling come from behind win over No. 11 Texas and No. 16 Mount St. Mary's victory over No. 16 American in Dayton, Ohio. The Musketeers trailed by as many as 13 points, but their offense came alive in the second half behind guard Marcus Foster and forward Zach Freemantle to down the Longhorns 86-80. The senior Foster scored a team-high 22 points while Freemantle, on his way to 15 points, threw down a dunk with a second left to seal the comeback win and ignite the fans at UD Arena, which is just over 50 miles away from campus in Cincinnati, Ohio. With just under four minutes remaining, Xavier went on an 8-2 run to take a 78-74 lead, their first since the early going of the first half. Musketeers head coach Sean Miller crowned Wednesday's game as 'one of the best' he's been a part of. 'I thought we were dead in the water two different times,' Miller told the truTV broadcast after the game. 'But that's the one thing about our team — the resiliency of our group has always won out for us. Just when you thought we weren't gonna make the tournament, we kept winning. Even in this game, just when you're like, 'It's not gonna work out,' we have a funny way of staying with it.' The Longhorns did not go down without a fight as guard Tre Johnson scored a game-high 23 points in the loss. Xavier will face No. 6 Illinois in the first round on Friday at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Earlier on Wednesday, Mount St. Mary's defeated No. 16 American 83-72. Mountaineers junior forward Dola Adebayo and senior forward Jedy Cordilia each dropped 22 points and sophomore guard Dallas Hobbs added 17. Mount St. Mary's earned its third-ever tournament win, all in play-in games. The No. 16 seed Mountaineers will next face Cooper Flagg and the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils in the first round Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions said after the game the Duke matchup will be just another game, but the team will be ready. 'It's basketball. It doesn't matter how big they are, how they're ranked,' Adebayo said at the postgame news conference. 'They've still got to tie their shoes just like me. That's it.' Hobbs added, 'Our mentality is the same thing, just going in and following the game plan, follow what (head coach Donny Lind) says, and hopefully go out there and get a win.' Lind, who won his first-ever tournament game, reflected on playing on the big stage and on Friday's contest against the Blue Devils. 'Today, when we walked out there for the National Anthem, it was a little bit of a 'holy cow' moment for me,' he said. 'Now, to get to move on with this group and let them keep playing and to go down to Raleigh and play Duke is awesome. 'Obviously, like all of us, we've watched a lot of Duke basketball as kids just because they were on TV before ESPN+ where we could watch whatever game we wanted. Certainly, it is an exciting opportunity. But like the guys say, we've got to get ready and give them everything we've got.' Lind is the first head coach in program history to reach the tourney in his first season at the helm.
CNN
20-03-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Xavier completes thrilling comeback, Mount St. Mary's advances as men's First Four comes to a close
Wednesday saw the men's First Four come to a close which means only one thing: the 64-team bracket is officially set following No. 11 Xavier's thrilling come from behind win over No. 11 Texas and No. 16 Mount St. Mary's victory over No. 16 American in Dayton, Ohio. The Musketeers trailed by as many as 13 points, but their offense came alive in the second half behind guard Marcus Foster and forward Zach Freemantle to down the Longhorns 86-80. The senior Foster scored a team-high 22 points while Freemantle, on his way to 15 points, threw down a dunk with a second left to seal the comeback win and ignite the fans at UD Arena, which is just over 50 miles away from campus in Cincinnati, Ohio. With just under four minutes remaining, Xavier went on an 8-2 run to take a 78-74 lead, their first since the early going of the first half. Musketeers head coach Sean Miller crowned Wednesday's game as 'one of the best' he's been a part of. 'I thought we were dead in the water two different times,' Miller told the truTV broadcast after the game. 'But that's the one thing about our team — the resiliency of our group has always won out for us. Just when you thought we weren't gonna make the tournament, we kept winning. Even in this game, just when you're like, 'It's not gonna work out,' we have a funny way of staying with it.' The Longhorns did not go down without a fight as guard Tre Johnson scored a game-high 23 points in the loss. Xavier will face No. 6 Illinois in the first round on Friday at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Earlier on Wednesday, Mount St. Mary's defeated No. 16 American 83-72. Mountaineers junior forward Dola Adebayo and senior forward Jedy Cordilia each dropped 22 points and sophomore guard Dallas Hobbs added 17. Mount St. Mary's earned its third-ever tournament win, all in play-in games. The No. 16 seed Mountaineers will next face Cooper Flagg and the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils in the first round Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions said after the game the Duke matchup will be just another game, but the team will be ready. 'It's basketball. It doesn't matter how big they are, how they're ranked,' Adebayo said at the postgame news conference. 'They've still got to tie their shoes just like me. That's it.' Hobbs added, 'Our mentality is the same thing, just going in and following the game plan, follow what (head coach Donny Lind) says, and hopefully go out there and get a win.' Lind, who won his first-ever tournament game, reflected on playing on the big stage and on Friday's contest against the Blue Devils. 'Today, when we walked out there for the National Anthem, it was a little bit of a 'holy cow' moment for me,' he said. 'Now, to get to move on with this group and let them keep playing and to go down to Raleigh and play Duke is awesome. 'Obviously, like all of us, we've watched a lot of Duke basketball as kids just because they were on TV before ESPN+ where we could watch whatever game we wanted. Certainly, it is an exciting opportunity. But like the guys say, we've got to get ready and give them everything we've got.' Lind is the first head coach in program history to reach the tourney in his first season at the helm.
