Xavier vs Illinois: NCAA Tournament Picks For March 21, 2025

Xavier and Illinois clash in a first round NCAA Tournament game on Friday night in college basketball. Get college basketball picks for today around Xavier vs Illinois battling in a NCAA Tournament matchup in Milwaukee, WI!

Here’s a breakdown of predictions and picks for this NCAA Tournament game tipping off at 9:45PM ET on March 21, 2025!

Xavier vs Illinois Game Details

Date: Friday, March 21, 2025
Time: 9:45 PM ET / 6:45 PM PT
Broadcast: CBS
Location: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
Spread: Illinois -3.5 | Total: 161.5

Xavier vs Illinois Betting Preview

Sean Miller is a fantastic coach, but we struggle to get excited about Xavier’s resume. The Musketeers trailed Texas for almost all of Wednesday’s First Four contest, including a ten-point hole with 12 minutes remaining.

They were able to escape in the final minutes, but when you shoot 48-percent from three-point range, you expect to win a little more comfortably.

Xavier lost the rebounding battle to Texas, and that is going to be another major concern in this one. The Musketeers are No. 320 in the country in offensive rebounding rate and only generated four against Texas on Wednesday.

Illinois is top-35 in the country in both offensive and defensive rebounding. Xavier played a non-conference schedule that ranks outside the top-200.

Non-conference games against South Carolina, Wake Forest, TCU and Cincinnati all lost shine because none of those four teams accomplished anything this season.

Xavier’s Big East schedule was very front-loaded and the Musketeers had a very easy path to rack up wins at the end of the season.

Xavier’s last four road games were at Villanova, at Providence, at Seton Hall and at Butler. Those four teams combined to go 25-55 in conference play. Xavier only played one NCAA Tournament team (Creighton at home) in its last nine regular season games.

Xavier vs Illinois Predictions

The Musketeers drew an ideal opponent in the opening round of the Big East Tournament (Marquette, who went 4-6 down the stretch and was struggling mightily), and they lost that contest.

Texas immediately fired Rodney Terry after Wednesday’s game, so that tells you what the Longhorns administration thought of the current state of their program.

Ultimately, Illinois has simply been the better team through out this season. As long as the three-point variance remains somewhat-equal, the Illini should take care of business in this matchup.

Xavier vs Illinois Prediction: Illinois -3.5

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