The ACC / Big Ten Challenge is upon us once again and in the 11/28 college basketball free pick we see Illinois traveling to take on Wake Forest. The Illini have stormed out of the gates under new head coach Brad Underwood, taking a 6-0 record into Tuesday night’s contest. Wake Forest on the other hand suffered a few devastating losses to start the season, but has turned things around a bit to find themselves favored on Tuesday night.
Undefeated Illini Getting Points on Tuesday
A lot of the public is liking Illinois in the 11/28 college basketball free pick as the Fighting Illini are the #7 most popular bet of the night with 69% in the UI corner. It’s not hard to see why Illinois is such an appealing wager option. The Fighting Illini are undefeated, have the #1 three point shooter in the country in Aaron Jordan (65.2%), and is deep tallying the 17th most bench minutes in the NCAA thus far on the year.
While Illinois is undefeated at 6-0, that record also has to be taken with a grain of salt since the Fighting Illini schedule is the 10th easiest in the country thus far. Illinois does like to run a fast paced offense (34th in tempo) and can put up points going for 85+ in three straight. The Fighting Illini rank 23rd in the nation in scoring at 89.0 ppg and in the 11/28 college basketball free pick will be up against a Wake Forest ‘D’ that has allowed 75+ in five of six games.
Is Wake Better Than They’ve Been Playing?
The Deacs have won two of their last three but much like Illinois the overall competition hasn’t been the greatest. Those Wake Forest victories came against Quinnipiac (72-55) and UNC-Greensboro (81-75). It’s what happened to start the season that has people a bit leery of betting on Wake for the 11/28 college basketball free pick. Wake Forest dropped their season opener 83-85 to Georgia Southern as -10.5 favorites, and followed that up with a 66-79 loss to Liberty in a game that the Deacs were so favored there wasn’t even a line – and both contests were at home.
Regardless of their past record, Wake does have the talent to stack up against the Illini, specifically in 7’1″ center Doral Moore who will undoubtedly command a double team. The Demon Deacons also have a veteran backcourt in Bryant Crawford and Keyshawn Woods who are seasoned for the first big game of the season compared to the Illini who start freshman Mark Smith and sophomore Te’Jon Lucas.
If Wake Forest ever is going to try to go to zone then tonight against Illinois is its best shot. The Illinois starting five is 13-57 (23%) from behind the arc on the year, and the center Mark Finke is the best at 9-23. Would expect to see at least a few plays of zone.
— Riley Johnston (@BSD_RaJohnston) November 28, 2017
11/28 College Basketball Free Pick
One thing to note about tonight is that it’s the first time Illinois will play on the road this season. Wake Forest has the size inside to keep Illinois shooting from the perimeter. That’s a deadly recipe for a team that relies on the fast break for a majority of their offense. With such a young team going on the road for the first time, the rim gets even smaller.
Pick: Wake Forest Demon Deacons -2.5
