Auburn vs Illinois State Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s NIT Tournament Game

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

Auburn and Illinois State meet in the NIT semifinals tonight, with the Tigers having a few notable advantages. The stylistic differences in this matchups stand out in a large way.

Advertisement

My Auburn vs. Illinois State predictions and college basketball picks break down why I like War Engle to roll on Thursday, April 2.

Auburn vs Illinois State prediction

Who will win Auburn vs Illinois State?

Auburn: The Tigers have a massive athleticism advantage, which is difficult to quantify with metrics, but you can see it throughout the games each of these teams have played in the tournament. Beyond that, Auburn has clear places to attack the Illinois State defense.

Auburn vs Illinois State best bet: Auburn -8 (-116)

The Auburn Tigers can crush the Illinois State Redbirds in transition. The Tigers are one of the best in the country on the break, and this is in an area where the Redbirds really struggle, allowing over 1.2 points per possession.

Advertisement

This looms large because Auburn’s athleticism should do a good job of speeding this game up.

On the other end, the Redbirds’ offense has real limitations. This is a 22nd-percentile pick-and-pop with a post-up game that produced just 0.82 points per possession.

Auburn’s defense is not good, but Illinois State does not have the shooting or creation to exploit it.

Covers

COVERS INTEL:

Auburn has one of the highest free-throw rates in the country, exceeding 42%, ranking 12th nationally.

Auburn vs Illinois State same-game parlay

I projected this total at 151, and while I think Illinois State struggles to score at times, it still gets the benefit of playing against a poor defense.

Advertisement

On the other side, the Tigers are well set up to score in bunches in transition, and when they don’t, they’ll attack a defense that fouls at an above-average clip.

Auburn vs Illinois State SGP

Our beyond the arc SGP: Hall is well

Keyshawn Hall having a big scoring…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/auburn-vs-illinois-state-prediction-171200520.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-04-02 17:12:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.