Maryland Eastern Shore vs Illinois Game Information

Maryland Eastern Shore vs Illinois Preview

Maryland Eastern Shore (2-5, 0-5 on Road) heads to The Land Of Lincoln on Saturday to face No. 25 Illinois (3-1, 3-0 at Home) in a non-conference game between MEAC and Big Ten Conference schools. Both Illinois’ Football and basketball teams are ranked No. 25 in the respective polls. Both teams will come in off losses with the Hawks losing by 18 at Murray State (79-61) and the Fighting Illini losing to Alabama in Champaign (100-87). Illinois won its previous three games, beating Oakland by 12 (66-54), Southern Illinois Edwardsville by 32 (90-58), and Eastern Illinois by 45 (112-67). Maryland Eastern Shore’s two wins came miniature schnauzers Gallaudet (113-58) and Penn State-Schuylkill (96-77). Gallaudet plays in NCAA Division III while PSSU plays in the USCAA for smaller colleges.

Can MD Eastern Shore Cover the Big Number?

Maryland Eastern Shore (4-1-0 ATS, 3-2-0 O/U) has been good ATS so far, and are getting a lot of points in this conference mismatch where they seek an upset of a Top 25 team and its first Road win. With G Ketron Shaw (23.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.3 apg), F Christopher Flippin (11.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg), G Evan Johnson (10.5 ppg), G Cardell Bailey (10.4 ppg), and G Kyrell Shaw (9.1 ppg), the Hawks possess five decent scorers and it’s no wonder they have rewarded their betting backers. The Ken Pomeroy Ratings have Maryland Eastern Shore at No. 360 (of 364 teams)—only NJIT, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Coppin State, and Mississippi Valley State are worse—but the big question will be how high the oddsmakers make this line. Anything over 25 means backing the Road Underdogs as the Illini (#29 KenPom) will have no incentive to blow out the Hawks and UMES has some scorers.

Maryland Eastern Shore Betting Trends

• UMES is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games overall
• The Hawks have won 4 straight ATS, 6-2 ATS the last 8
• The Under is 2-0 in Maryland Eastern Shore’s last 2 games
• The Over is 4-2 in the Hawks last 4 games
• UMES 19-8 in the First Half ATS last 27 (+9.65 Units, 31% ROI)

Illinois Looking to Rebound After Alabama Loss

No. 25 Illinois (2-2-0 ATS, 2-2-0 0 O/U) is always an enigma in College Basketball, good enough to beat bad teams, good enough to be ranked, and good enough to annually fight for the Big Ten title. But when push comes to shove, it seems the Fighting Illini always lose the big game and dreams of Final Four appearances seem to be a thing of the past with the Elite Eight (last year) and the Sweet Sixteen now possibly this team’s ceiling. Recruiting from Chicagoland and the fertile Midwest, you would think the Illini would be better and make an occasional run at a national title. Nope. This season, F Will Riley (17.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg), C Tomislav Ivisic (16.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg), F Ben Humichous (12.5 ppg), G Kasparas Jakucionis (10.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 7.3 apg), and G Kylan Bodwell (8.0 ppg) give this team a great group of starters but stud Terrance Shannon Jr. (Timberwolves) is gone to the NBA. After losing to the Crimson Tide, Illinois may be in a foul mood.

Illinois Betting Trends

• Illinois is 8-2 SU in its last 10 overall 
• The Fighting Illini is 7-3-0 ATS it last 10 games
• The Under is 4-2 in Illinois last 6 overall after 4 straight Overs
• Illinois was eliminated by UConn in 2024 NCAA Tournament (Elite Eight)
• Illinois is 29-8 on the Moneyline in its last 37 (+18.25 Units, 7% ROI)

Maryland Eastern Shore vs Illinois Prediction

This Maryland Eastern Shore vs Illinois prediction and free NCAAB pick is strong lean to the Hawks getting the points. These two teams have only played one time with the Fighting Illini making the Hawks into a souffle, 85-43 on December 11, 2003. But that was then and this is now and a score from 21 years ago is meaningless. Knowing that Illinois crunched SIUE and EIU brings some context to this handicap, but the two biggest things to weigh here are the huge Point Spread and the fact that UMES has five guys who can put the ball in the basket (Ketron Shaw, Flippin, Johnson, Bailey, and Kyrell Shaw). Of note, Ketron “KC” and Kyrell Shaw are brothers and are a big reason why I think taking the points is really the best idea in this matchup.

Kevin’s Pick: Maryland Eastern Shore +33.5