Illinois basketball vs Florida Gulf Coast: How to watch and early spread

Illinois basketball welcomes the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles to the State Farm Center on Friday for game two of the season. Both teams enter at 1-0 after dominant wins in their openers on Monday.

Date: Friday, November 7
Time: 7:30 p.m. CST
Channel: Peacock

This will be the first-ever meeting between Illinois and Florida Gulf Coast in men’s college basketball. Oddsmakers aren’t expecting a close game. KenPom projects Illinois as a 26-point favorite, with a predicted final score of 91-65 in favor of the Illini.

Florida Gulf Coast comes to Champaign following a 96-60 win over NAIA opponent New College of Florida, where five players scored in double figures. Friday’s matchup will certainly be a far greater challenge for the Eagles. Currently, they are projected to contend near the top of their conference but lack the depth and talent to keep up with Illinois.

More on the enemy

The Atlantic Sun preseason poll has Florida Gulf Coast slated fourth. Currently, they have the second-best odds at BetMGM to win their conference this season at +325. Zero FGCU players (out of ten) were selected to the A-Sun preseason team. 

While Florida Gulf Coast should provide a tougher test than Jackson State did on Monday, the Illini are still expected to cruise to another comfortable victory.

Illinois will likely be without Mihailo Petrovic once again as he continues to recover from a lingering hamstring injury suffered earlier this fall. Cal transfer Andrej Stojakovic, who missed the season opener, remains a game-time decision. Head coach Brad Underwood noted Monday that Stojakovic has yet to participate in a full practice.

Though Friday’s contest may not be close, it’s another important opportunity for Illinois basketball to fine-tune its chemistry ahead of next week’s marquee non-conference showdown against No. 10 Texas Tech.

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