Western Illinois at Denver odds, picks and predictions

The Western Illinois Leathernecks (14-8, 7-4 Summit) visit the Denver Pioneers (12-12, 3-8) Thursday. Tip from Hamilton Gymnasium is set for 9 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Western Illinois vs. Denver odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.

Western Illinois beat San Diego State 81-73 in overtime Saturday, covering as a 1.5-point home underdog. The Leathernecks have won 5 in a row and are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) in that time. They are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 and 11-7-1 ATS on the season. According to NCAA.com, they average 75.3 points per game to rank 98th, while shooting 46.55% from the field (68th).

Denver fell 70-60 at Kansas City Saturday, failing to cover as a 6-point road underdog. It was the Pioneers’ 3rd straight loss and 3rd straight game they failed to cover the spread. The Pioneers are only 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games and 9-12-1 ATS overall. Despite their struggles, the Pioneers are one of the top shooting teams in the country, ranking 10th by shooting 49.1% from the field.

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Western Illinois at Denver odds

Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:58 a.m. ET.

• Moneyline (ML): Western Illinois -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | Denver -110 (bet $110 to win $100)
• Against the spread: Western Illinois -1.5 (+100) | Denver +1.5 (-120)
• Over/Under (O/U): 147.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)

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Western Illinois at Denver picks and predictions

Prediction

Denver 79, Western Illinois 77

Moneyline

BET DENVER (-110).

The Pioneers have struggled recently, but return to their home court for the first time in 5 games. They are 6-3 at home this season — the Leathernecks are 3-6 on the road.

Denver will look to rally around its home crowd to get key stops on defense which will propel the Pioneers to victory.

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Against the spread

PASS.

Although not much, there is more juice on Denver +1.5 (-120) than the moneyline play for Denver.

Over/Under

BET OVER 147.5 (-115).

Both of these programs are more than capable of scoring a lot of points. Western Illinois’ O/U record is 10-9, while Denver’s is 16-6.

The Over has hit in each of Western Illinois’ last 3 games and is 6-4 in Denver’s last 10, including 3-1 in its last 4 home games.

With both teams’ strength coming from their respective offense, OVER 147.5 (-115) should be strongly considered.

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