Morehead State vs Illinois Picks and Prediction – 3/21/2024

The Morehead State Eagles roll into the big dance with a first round matchup against Illinois. Morehead State rolled through the season finishing the year with 26 wins overall riding a long winning streak following a 14 point victory in their last game of the year. The Morehead State offense has been a middle of the pack team this season scoring 74.85 points on just over 46% shooting from the floor. Defensively Morehead ranked 12th in the country allowing just 63.48 points per game this season. For other college basketball action see our College Basketball Picks.

Riley Minix has led the way for the Morehead State offense averaging 20.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Jordan Lathan averages 15.4 points and Khalil Thomas averages 12.5 points per game. Drew Thelwell averages 10 points and a team leading 6.3 assists.

The Illinois Fighting Illini come into the big dance as a three seed following their victory in the BIG 10 championship game over Wisconsin on Sunday. Illinois has used their depth and talent all season to rank 11th on the offensive side of the ball averaging 84.15 points on nearly 47% shooting from the floor. Defensively Illinois did have some troubles allowing 73.39 points per game, but their strong offense carried the load for the team all year.

Terrence Shannon Jr has led the way for the Illinois offense this season averaging 22.6 points in 27 games played overall. Marcus Domask is second on the roster averaging 15.7 points and adds a team high 3.6 assists, while Coleman Hawkins chips in 12.6 points per game. Big man Quincy Guerrier is averaging 10.2 points as the fourth player in double figures to go along with the team leading 6.5 rebounds.