It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Eastern Illinois-Indiana prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Eastern Illinois Indiana.
Mike Woodson enters a hugely important season as the face and leader of Indiana basketball. Indiana missed the NCAA Tournament last season, which is a crisis and a disaster in Bloomington. Should the fact that Indiana football is 10-0 take any pressure off Woodson? Maybe in the month of November, but once November ends, there will still be a college basketball season to continue into the winter, long after the football regular season comes to a close. Woodson really can't afford another lost season at IU, a blueblood basketball school which has generated mediocre results for much of the 21st century. There have been some occasional high points, such as a No. 1 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament and a Round of 32 showing under Woodson in 2023, but the bottom line for the Hoosiers is that they have not been to the Final Four since the remarkable and improbable Mike Davis-coached run in 2002. That's over 20 years without a Final Four for a school with five national championships and a rich basketball tradition. Woodson has to do better, and he should be expected to do better. Nonconference cupcake games such as this one against Eastern Illinois might seem relatively unimportant, and to an extent, that's a reasonable thing to say, but Woodson really needs to bring his team along so that when the level of competition rises, Indiana will be ready. The Hoosiers need to develop good habits and evolve to the point that they won't have to learn lessons the hard way.
Indiana won its opener against SIU-Edwardsville by 19 points. The team looked reasonably cohesive for a first game, and the effort level was strong. No one should assign too much meaning to the game, but as far as it went, there was more positive than negative. Now Indiana needs to build on that opener and create a steady upward trajectory moving into the middle of November. Indiana cannot afford a two-steps-forward, one-step-back pattern. This team has to be able to make a consistent climb toward its goals and the fulfillment of its potential.
Here are the Eastern Illinois-Indiana College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Eastern Illinois-Indiana Odds
Eastern Illinois: +26.5 (-102)
Moneyline: +3500
Indiana: -26.5 (-120)
Moneyline: -20000
Over: 149.5 (-115)
Under: 149.5 (-105)
How to Watch Eastern Illinois vs Indiana
Time: 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT
TV: B1G Plus
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Eastern Illinois Will Cover The Spread/Win
The spread is huge, and Indiana is coming off a game it won by 19 points. The Hoosiers will need to be noticeably better to cover the larger spread here. Eastern Illinois is starting a new season here, so referencing past years might not be entirely solid as a basis for a prediction, but EIU did win outright on the road in the Big Ten as a 31.5-point underdog at Iowa in late 2022. Again, it's a different roster and a different situation, but gambling experts and historians remember that moment well. EIU just needs to lose by 26 points or fewer, and it will cover.
Why Indiana Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Hoosiers looked good in their first game. If they improve in their second game, they should cover. They will be facing an opponent which is unlikely to match up well with them physically. This should give Indiana the space and comfort needed to win by a huge margin.
Final Eastern Illinois-Indiana Prediction & Pick
The spread is enormous, and we're not sure how good Indiana is. Pass on this one.
Final Eastern Illinois-Indiana Prediction & Pick: Indiana -26.5
Follow Us
Subscribe
