Check out our free Western Illinois vs Denver pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Denver. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

Western Illinois vs Denver Pick & Preview: Thursday, February 2nd Betting Odds

Leathernecks vs Pioneers Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Western Illinois Leathernecks at Denver Pioneers
  • Where: Denver at Hamilton Gymnasium
  • Date: Thursday, February 2nd
  • Betting Odds: Western Illinois -1, WILL -118 | DEN -105 O/U 147.5

Leathernecks Preview:

Western Illinois will take the floor against the Pioneers with an overall record of 14-8. On the road, the Leathernecks will be playing their 9th game of the season, having gone 3-6. This season, Western Illinois has been favored to win in 10 games, sitting with a mark of 7-3. For today’s contest, Western Illinois has a betting line set -1 points in their favor.

Western Illinois will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Trenton Massner who is averaging 18.71 points per game for the Leathernecks. Massner is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Leathernecks’ offensive game plan is the play of Alec Rosner who has hit 44.2% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 14.32 points per game.

Western Illinois comes into today’s matchup vs Denver, looking to continue their strong offensive play, as they are averaging 78.7 points per game. Through 22 games, they have hit 43.8% of their field goal attempts. In terms of pace, the Leathernecks have preferred to slow the game down, ranking 232nd in possessions per game.

Pioneers Preview:

Through 24 games, the Denver Pioneers have an overall record of 12-12. So far this season, Denver has played 9 games at home, sitting with a record of 6-3. For the season, Denver has been the underdog in 11 games, sitting with a mark of 2-9. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Pioneers being +1 point underdogs.

Denver will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Tommy Bruner who is averaging 16.46 points per game for the Pioneers. Bruner is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Pioneers’ offensive game plan is the play of Touko Tainamo who has hit 55.4% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 10.67 points per game.

Coming into today’s game, Denver will be looking from some improved play from their offense. Currently, the Pioneers are ranked 223rd at 70.5 points per game. A major reason for their low scoring mumbers is the fact that they tend to work the clock on offense. This year, they are the 407th ranked team in terms of pace. When looking at their 3-point shooting numbers, Denver is close to the NCAA average at 36.8%.

Free Spread Prediction: Western Illinois Leathernecks -1

Heading into this matchup, our NCAA betting model has identified this game as a profitable opportunity and recommends taking the Western Illinois Leathernecks to pick up the win and cover the spread as -1 point betting favorites. Although Western Illinois as a team is just 244th in overall shooting percentage, we see their offense putting together a strong performance against the Pioneers’ defense. At -1 we see there being plenty of value in grabbing the Leathernecks to come out on top and cover.