Wednesday CBB and we will see the Butler Bulldogs take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Championship of the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii. The game is scheduled for a 10:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised live on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have Illinois favored by 2.5 points while the total sits at 133.5. Check out Sportsbook Spy to see who the Public is taking on all of today's games.
Free Analysis: Butler split its two games prior to heading to Maui, where it has put together an improbable run to say the least. First, the Bulldogs defeated Marquette in the opening round, 72-71, on a last-second game-winning three-pointer by Rotnei Clarke. They somehow managed to top that performance in the semifinals against No. 9 North Carolina by winning 82-71 in a game they led wire-to-wire. The Bulldogs have put up merely average shooting percentages by their standards both from the field overall (.446) and from three-point range (.333), but against UNC they came out firing. They made 25-of-53 from the floor, including 12-of-25 from downtown, as they led by as many as 29 in the second half. Clarke and Kellen Dunham each scored 17 points, and the two combined to hit 9-of-15 three-pointers on the night. Andrew Smith netted 13 points, and Khyle Marshall tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds. Butler was also stellar from the free throw line, hitting 20-of-25 from the stripe to help hold off a late run by the Tar Heels. On the season, Clarke is Butler's leading scorer with 16.2 ppg, albeit on just 39 percent field goal accuracy. Marshall (13.8 ppg) is the team's leading rebounding with 7.0 rpg, and Dunham (12.5 ppg) has drained 92.9 percent of his free throws.
The Illini's fantastic early-season run started with a pair of home wins over Colgate (75-55) and Saint Francis (89-64) before traveling to Hawaii for a road game with the Rainbow Warriors, a contest they won in overtime, 78-77. Illinois barely broke a sweat in the tournament so far, beating USC (94-64) and Chaminade (84-61) en route to the championship game. Illinois has been fantastic this season, shooting 46.3 percent from the floor while outscoring its opponents by nearly 20 ppg, winning the battle on the boards by 6.2 rpg, and forcing four more turnovers per game than it commits. The Fighting Illini continue to win with solid guard play. Brandon Paul is averaging 21.5 points, 3.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds after finishing in the top two in all three categories last season. Fellow senior D.J. Richardson is the team’s sharpshooter, connecting on 31.8 percent of his 3-pointers this season. They’ve been supported by sophomore Tracy Abrams, who has nearly quadrupled his scoring average from last season (4.3 to 15.3). Joseph Bertrand, the team’s fourth-leading scorer last season, made sure he wasn’t forgotten, scoring a team-high 14 points against Chaminade.
Free Pick: I like the Over in this one. Both teams are not known for their up and down the court play, but both teams have been running a bit more these days. Butler's scoring really took off on the islands as they have averaged 77 ppg in the 2 games thus far. Illinois comes in averaging a bit more than that at 89 ppg. Both teams will look to push tempo here and we can also expect a close game, which should mean FT's at the end, plus possibly OT. This game should hit at least 140 points.
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Basketball Betting Tips
Host Marco D'Angelo along with Johnny Detroit and Bryan Leonard discuss some betting tips for College and Pro Basketball.