The No. 19 Arkansas Razorbacks (5-1) will square off against the Illinois Fighting Illini (5-1) in the 2024 Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase in Kansas City on Thursday afternoon on CBS and Paramount+. Arkansas tied the school record for largest halftime lead when it cruised to a 109-35 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore on Monday. Illinois blew out the Hawks as well last week before crushing Little Rock in a 92-34 final. The Razorbacks are in their first season under head coach John Calipari, while Brad Underwood is in his eighth season with the Illini.
Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The latest Illinois vs. Arkansas odds from SportsLine consensus list the Illini as 2.5-point favorites, while the over/under for total points is 154.5. You can watch Thursday's game on CBS and stream the game on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, which you can get for $2.99 a month for your first two months.
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How to watch Arkansas vs. Illinois
- Arkansas vs. Illinois date: Thursday, Nov. 28
- Arkansas vs. Illinois time: 4 p.m. ET
- Arkansas vs. Illinois TV channel: CBS
- Arkansas vs. Illinois live stream: Paramount+ ($2.99/month for first two months)
College basketball picks for Illinois vs. Arkansas
Before tuning into the Arkansas vs. Illinois game, you need to see the college basketball picks from SportsLine's advanced computer model. The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 4 of the 2024-25 season on a 162-118 roll (+1952) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following has seen huge returns.
For Illinois vs. Arkansas, the model projects that the Illini cover the spread as 2.5-point favorites. Illinois was bounced from the top 25 following its loss to Alabama, but the Illini responded with blowout wins over Maryland-Eastern Shore and Little Rock. They dominated the paint against Little Rock and went on a 23-0 run during an eight-minute stretch in the first half.
Illinois held Little Rock to just 23.6% shooting and posted a 56-26 rebounding edge in a game where it tied an arena record for fewest points from a visiting team (34). Freshman forward Will Riley is off to a phenomenal start for Illinois, averaging 17.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He is joined in double figures by Tomislav Ivisic (15.5), Kasparas Jakucionis (12.0) and Ben Humrichous (10.3).
The Illini have been an excellent team to back dating back to last season, as they have covered the spread in nine of their last 12 games. They have also won four of the last five meetings between these teams, and SportsLine's model has them covering the spread in well over 60% of simulations. Stream the game here.
How to watch, live stream the college basketball on CBS
Now that you know what to pick, get ready to watch NCAA on CBS games on Paramount+ on any device you want. Visit Paramount+ now to stream your live local CBS sporting events, including the NFL on CBS and much more.
