COLLEGE BASKETBALL — February 27

MINNESOTA at ILLINOIS
(Illinois -3) — [private] Certainly Minnesota has done its best work at home, and even in Minneapolis the Gophers suffered a bitter defeat on Wednesday when they watched as Purdue lost its best player, Robbie Hummel, to a knee injury, and then proceeded to blow a lead. It’s not that Tubby Smith;s team has been playing badly lately; in fact, they have covered three games in a row. It’s just that those games were all at home, and they often go down when hit as the traveler (2-7 ATS). Smith hasn’t had the easiest time replacing the suspended Al Nolen at the point. Under the circumstances, this number is reasonable.

THE PLAY: ILLINOIS -3 ***

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)
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