On Friday, March 21, 2025, the Illinois Fighting Illini will do battle with the Xavier Musketeers in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Xavier won a dramatic First Four game to get to this point, while Illinois is looking to get back to the second weekend of the tournament after doing so last season. A First Four team always tends to make a run in this tournament, a club Xavier will look to join with a win here.
According to bet365, the Fighting Illini are favored by 2.5 points in this matchup between 11-seed Xavier and 6-seed Illinois. The total for this Xavier vs Illinois matchup is 156.5 points. Here, we break down this Big East vs Big Ten matchup and give you our best bet for this contest as well.
Xavier Hoping For Less Dramatic Victory This Time Around
The Xavier Musketeers came back from a double-digit deficit to beat the Illinois Fighting Illini in the First Four in Dayton, OH. In what was essentially a home game for the Musketeers, Sean Miller’s team showed a ton of heart to overcome foul trouble and hot shooting from Texas in the first half. Now the Musketeers will look to get another win over a power conference opponent to reach the Round of 32.
If Xavier is going to win this game, they are going to need their stars to do a better job of avoiding foul trouble. Zach Freemantle picked up two early fouls, which really impacted the way Xavier defended the paint throughout that win over Texas. That can’t happen again if Xavier is going to continue their season into Sunday’s second round.
Illinois Looks to Kickstart Another Second Weekend Run
Illinois is 21-12 heading into the NCAA Tournament. In their last game before March Madness, the Fighting Illini were blown out by the Maryland Terrapins in the Big Ten tournament. Still, Illinois grabbed an at-large bid into the tourney and they will aim to advance to the second round of March Madness by picking up a win as the higher seed in this game.
Rebounding the basketball is an area where Illinois should be able to dominate in this game. The Fighting Illini rank second in the nation in rebounding, averaging 42.5 rebounds per game. As long as Illinois can win the battle on the backboard in this game, they can avoid a second straight loss in postseason play and move on to round two.
Xavier vs Illinois Prediction
Illinois -2.5 (-110) over Xavier
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Claim Bonus - Illinois is a dominant rebounding team, which should help them gain the upper hand in this matchup.
- Wednesday’s First Four game was grueling and Illinois should be able to take advantage of a worn down opponent.
