Many eyes in the college basketball world will be on UIC Pavilion Saturday as host Illinois-Chicago looks to handle the Colorado State Rams in NCAA hoops action.

Illinois-Chicago will face the 6-1 Rams, who own a 3-3 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Flames are 0-3 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Rams are 1-1 favoring the OVER.



View Colorado State vs Illinois-Chicago Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
The Rams were listed as 2-point favorites at many online sportsbooks, including Sportsbook.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The power rankings show a disparity between these teams, with the Flames rated this week at No. 45 and the Rams sitting at No. 92. It may or may not play a role in Odds Shark score prediction modelling that produced a 76-75 result in favor of the Rams.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Illinois-Chicago's No. 252-ranked offense, averaging 63.9 PPG, against a Rams defense that ranks No. 93 at 62 PPG. The Flames field goal percentage has averaged 38.9% so far, less than the Rams marksmen have achieved on the year, 44.9% per game.

Defensively, Colorado State features the nation's No. 39-rated defense on the road, allowing 59.3 points per game. Illinois-Chicago, meanwhile, comes in at No. 273 nationally in scoring at home.

Colorado State was a 70-61 loser in their most recent outing on the road against Colorado. They failed to cover the 4-point spread as underdogs. Colton Iverson scored 19 points in a futile effort to lead the Rams to a win (they lost 70-61 to Colorado at Coors Events Center on Wednesday).

Illinois-Chicago won its last outing, an 81-43 result against Roosevelt on December 5. The battle between the Flames and Lakers didn’t turn out to be much of a battle at all as Roosevelt was handed an 81-43 defeat on Wednesday at UIC Pavilion.


Colorado State Rams Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 2-8
After playing Colorado are 6-4
After a loss are 6-4

Illinois-Chicago Flames Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 4-6
After playing Roosevelt are 1-1
After a win are 5-5

A few Rams at Flames trends to consider:
Colorado State is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games on the road
Illinois-Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games


Next up:
Colorado State home to North Florida, Monday, December 17
Illinois-Chicago home to Eastern Michigan, Saturday, December 15