Tuesday’s college basketball action is headlined by a matchup between the University of Illionis and the University of Texas, who meet in New York City in the Jimmy V Classic. Both of these teams look to make a deep run in the national tournament in March. The Illini have won 47 combined games in the regular season the last two years, but they have only won two March Madness games in that stretch. The approach has moved from centering around a big man to a tempo approach, now that Kofi Cockburn has left for the pros. Five different players are shooting better than 35% from three-point land, so the approach could work. Texas has routed Gonzaga and held off Creighton on a night when the Longhorns clanked 15 of their three-point attempts. That gives them two wins over top-ten opponents with a roster that already has NCAA tournament experience. Check out our NCAA Basketabll betting thoughts on their showdown as well as another matchup from the Lone Star State.
NCAA News: Top Basketball Picks for December 6
Illinois Fighting Illini (+2.5) vs Texas Longhorns (O/U 141.5)
(7:00 pm ET)
Illinois started Big Ten play with a setback, losing to Maryland on Friday, 71-66. That gave them their second loss of the season, although both have come against ranked teams. Terrance Shannon Jr., the Texas Tech transfer, put up 19 points in the loss, and Coleman Hawkins had 16 points and tied a career mark with four blocks. R.J. Melendez scored 13 points and pulled down a career-best seven boards, and the Illini won the scoring battle in the paint, 44-28. So far on the season, Illinois has an average point differential of +20.4 per game, hitting almost 10 three-balls per game. The problems have come in ball security, as they cough the ball up 15 times per game.
Texas is off to a terrific start, with a 6-0 record that includes those signature wins over Gonzaga and Creighton. Their last game saw them beat the Bluejays by five, 72-67, as the Longhorn defense limited Creighton to 41% shooting from the floor – including just 15% from behind the arc, as Creighton scored a season-low 67 points in the loss. Marcus Carr led the way with a season-best 19 points. Ball security was very impressive, as Texas dished out 15 assists while committing just three turnovers. Texas has a +25.3 scoring differential so far this year, averaging 80.5 points per game. The defense has been stout, limiting opponents to just 36% shooting (23% from three-point range). Texas to win and cover.
North Texas Mean Green (-10.5) at Texas-Arlington Mavericks (113.5)
(8:00 pm ET)
North Texas suffered a setback, losing to St. Mary’s (CA), but they have won five of six since then. They also lost to UNC-Wilmington last week despite entering the game as nine-point favorites, but they recovered with a 75-45 laugher over Omaha on Saturday. North Texas has been the favorite in all five of its wins, and against Omaha, Abou Ousmane was the scoring leader with 19 points, and he also grabbed eight boards. Jayden Martinez went 4 of 4 from downtown, finishing with 13 points overall. Tylor Perry is the top scorer with 16.2 points per game, even though he had just a pair of points in 23 minutes against Omaha. A problem for the Mean Green is their two-point shooting, which is just 39.1% for the year. They do rebound well on the offensive glass, as they rank #42 in Division I in that stat.
UT-Arlington has struggled this season but almost upset LSU on the road, falling by just four. A problem for the Mavericks has been their shooting; their effective rate so far is 37.8%, which ranks last among 363 teams in Division I basketball. UTA actually led LSU with 4:12 remaining in regulation, but they did not score any more points until just 22 seconds were left on the clock. Marlon Humphrey led the team with 15 points against LSU, and Brandon Walker came off the bench to score 10 points and pull down five rebounds. No Mavericks score in double figures for the season; their leaders are Shemar Wilson and Aaron Cash (8.7 ppg). UT-Arlington to cover.
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