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Illinois is becoming one of the more popular National Championship picks as experts fill out their brackets this week.
While Gonzaga is the overwhelming favorite, the Illini have become one of the top choices for analysts who are looking to go in another direction — or to pick up more value in the futures market.
In a segment on Fox Bet Live on Wednesday, analyst Todd Fuhrman made the case for Illinois at +700 to win it all.
“I’m gonna make a case for Illinois at 7-to-1,” Fuhrman said. “This is a Fighting Illini team that has one loss over the last six weeks. They’ve really found their swagger. We knew about their inside-outside presence with Ayo Dosunmu controlling the perimeter and Kofi Cockburn on the inside. But what’s really sparked this team is the sixth man off the bench, Andre Curbelo … He’s given them another dynamic scorer and a ball handler in crunch time. I think the Illini are clicking on all cylinders right now and Brad Underwood will coach this team up.”
Andre Curbelo has been sensational of late, scoring at least 10 points in seven of Illinois’ last eight games. For the season, he’s averaging 9.1 points and 4.0 assists per game. The talented freshman was named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year earlier this month.
Illinois will begin its road to the Final Four against Drexel on Friday.
Here’s the full segment:
Illinois at 7/1 to win the title? @ToddFuhrman makes his case:
"They've really found their swagger… The Illini are clicking on all cylinders right now & Brad Underwood will coach this team up." pic.twitter.com/qRvXfInMB3
— Bear Bets Podcast (@BearBetsPod) March 17, 2021
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.