Halftime Report

Only one more half stands between Alabama and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead Illinois 52-38.

If Alabama keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 4-1 in no time. On the other hand, Illinois will have to make due with a 3-1 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

Illinois Fighting Illini @ Alabama Crimson Tide

Current Records: Illinois 3-0, Alabama 3-1

How To Watch

What to Know

Illinois has played every game this season on their home court, but they'll have to hit the road on Wednesday. They will face off against the Alabama Crimson Tide at 9:00 p.m. ET at Legacy Arena. The Fighting Illini might want some stickum for this one as the team gave up 18 turnovers on Wednesday.

Illinois is headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week's over/under low at 150, but even that wound up being too high. They came out on top against Oakland by a score of 66-54.

Among those leading the charge was Tomislav Ivisic, who went 9 for 14 en route to 20 points plus six rebounds and four steals.

Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored Alabama last Friday, but the final result did not. They fell 87-78 to Purdue. The loss was the Crimson Tide's first of the season.

Despite the loss, Alabama had strong showings from Labaron Philon, who went 7 for 10 en route to 18 points plus five rebounds, and Grant Nelson, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Illinois' win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 3-0. As for Alabama, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 3-1.

Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Illinois hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 89.3 points per game. However, it's not like Alabama struggles in that department as they've been averaging 87. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.

Illinois is hoping to beat the odds on Wednesday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. This will be their first time playing as the underdogs this season.

Odds

Alabama is a big 8.5-point favorite against Illinois, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The line on this game has moved quite a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Crimson Tide as a 4.5-point favorite.


The oddsmakers are expecting fireworks from the offense and set the over/under at a high 167.5 points.

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