The William & Mary Tribe (1-1) and the Illinois-Chicago Flames (0-3) will lock horns in The Windy City for a cross-conference collision pitting the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) against The Horizon League. The Tribe and Flames have no recent meetings with each other. The contest will be televised live from the UIC campus on NBC Sports Chicago with a tip-off time of 8:00 PM ET.
William & Mary Tribe at Illinois-Chicago Flames Overview
William & Mary Tribe
The Tribe comes into this contest on the heels of an 84-70 loss on the road at Duquesne, last Saturday when the Tribe failed to cover as just a four-point underdog. Previous to this, W&M notched a victory against High Point to kick off their 2018 campaign.
Illinois-Chicago Flames
The Flames have started off their season with a smoky start, losing their first three outings out of the gate against Notre Dame, Radcliffe, and most recently the team that beat William & Mary, Duquesne. The Flames fell to the Dukes on the road on Monday in overtime falling by just a mere point. From a first glance comparing and contrasting how UIC and W&M fared against a common opponent is seemingly driving this market as 76% of the consensus like the Flames in this spot.
Reasons To Avoid Illinois-Chicago
The Flames enter this affair with two fewer days to both rest and prepare. When you combine this with the fact that the Flames are ironically ice-cold, it can be quite the risky venture spotting points with UIC even if it is just a single bucket. Perhaps the Flames could have been on fire this season if they were more prominent on the boards as opponents have outmuscled them on the glass in all three of their losses by a combined margin of 124-86.
Reasons To Back William & Mary
As mentioned, the Tribe owned the rebounding advantage against an Illinois-Chicago team that sits at the bottom of the barrel surrendering a 339th-ranked 41.3 rebounds per game. William & Mary, on the other hand, gives up just 32 boards per game (189th in the nation), which translates to more opportunities for The Tribe and a potentially long night for the Flames. In addition to the edge in the frontcourt, the Tribe commits fewer turnovers compared to their counterparts, and they play a better brand of defense. The Tribe has given up just 76.5 points per game (255th in the nation) compared to UIC who gives up one of the highest amounts of points per game, a 333rd-ranked 87 points per game.
- Get more details: William and Mary at Illinois Chicago NCAAB Match-Up
- Get live odds: William and Mary at Illinois Chicago NCAAB Betting Odds
