Top-25 Teams Square Off Tonight In Alabama

Illinois vs. Alabama, 9:00 ET
 

The college hoops look from last night ended up falling as I was expecting the teams to score more points. It was a mistake, I should've accounted more for the fact that the first road game of the season is almost always tough for shooters. In general, college teams do substantially worse on the road than at home. It happens in the NBA too for a lot of teams - role players tend to play worse on the road. Is this going to be the case for Illinois as they take on Alabama tonight? 

Illinois isn't quite picking up where they left off last season, but they do have a nice start to the season. They have won all three of their first three games, and have now entered into the top-25 of the team. Illinois really hasn't faced anyone significant to this point in the year, which isn't all that surprising. They opened the year against Eastern Illinois and won by 45 points. The next game was against Southern Illinois Edwardsville and coasted to a 32-point win. Their last game was a bit closer but still not exactly a nail biter. They faced Oakland and ended up winning the game by 12 points. While a talented team hasn't tested them, they've been efficient on the offensive end. Their defense hasn't had to work hard, but they have good rotations and most of them are willing to battle through screens to stay on defenders. Most schools are known for their shooting and guard play, but the Fighting Illini are actually boosted more by their frontcourt, this could pose some issues for Alabama. 

Nov 13, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA;  Illinois Fighting Illini forward Ben Humrichous (3) blocks Oakland Golden Grizzlies forward Buru Naivalurua (12) during the second half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Alabama has already stumbled once this season, and as mentioned earlier, it was due to being on the road. Their most recent game saw them head into Purdue's gym and lose the game by nine points. It wasn't a terrible result or a brutal performance from Alabama, but they couldn't stop anyone. Specifically Mark Sears, the stud Alabama guard, couldn't get his shot consistently going. He shot just 1-for-6 from three, and went just 5-for-15 overall. He still lead the team in assists, but he is always going to have the most defensive attention against him. Coming back home he should shoot better, but so should the rest of the team. Overall, the squad shot decently, enough, but they allowed Purdue to shoot 56% from deep and 50% overall. If they leave too many Illinois shooters wide open, it won't matter that it is a road game for them. 

There is an edge here for Illinois down low, but it isn't like this is the first time Alabama has ever had to face a good center and space-making wings. I think this is a bit too high of a total for the two teams though. Illinois is likely to suffer offensive regression with them leaving their home court. The defenses aren't elite, but you're asking for both teams to score 80 and I just don't see it happening. Back the under.

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