Two Top 25 teams in college basketball will collide on Tuesday evening when the 11^th-ranked Florida Atlantic Owls and the 20^th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini face off in New York, New York at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic with the game scheduled to start at 6:30 PM ET and will air on ESPN.

The Florida Atlantic Owls enter this game ranked 11^th in the AP Poll and 9^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 7-1 which includes winning the ESPN Events Invitational by defeating the Butler Bulldogs in the 1^st round by a score of 91-86, the Texas A&M Aggies in the Semifinals by a score of 96-89, and the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Championship by a score of 84-80. The Owls have been one of the highest-scoring teams in college basketball this season as they enter this game averaging 83.88 points per game and Vladislav Goldin has played a pivotal part in the success that Florida Atlantic has had offensively as he leads the team in scoring, rebounds, and blocks with an average of 15.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. The Florida Atlantic Owls will look to extend their winning streak to six games when they play the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Jimmy V Classic.

Illinois enters this game naked 20^th in the AP Poll and 18^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 6-1 and is on a four-game winning streak following a 76-58 win on the road against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday. The matchup against the Owls will be their 2^nd Top 25 opponent this season as they faced the Marquette Golden Eagles earlier this season, however, they lost by a score of 64-71. The early season success for the Fighting Illini can be attributed to their offensive and defensive play as they have been above average in both this season as they enter this game averaging 77.57 points per game while allowing an average of 58.57 points per game which is the 7^th fewest points per game in college basketball. The Illinois Fighting Illini will look to extend their winning streak to five games when they play the Florida Atlantic Owls on Tuesday evening.

BookMaker has the Florida Atlantic Owls listed as 2-point favorites against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday evening. These teams have only played each other one other time which occurred during the 2018-19 college basketball season and resulted in a 73-71 win for the Florida Atlantic Owls while covering the 13-point spread as an underdog. The Florida Atlantic Owls are 6-2 ATS overall and 5-2 ATS as a favorite this season while the Illinois Fighting Illini are 3-4 ATS overall and 1-0 ATS as an underdog on the year.

Florida Atlantic is the more talented team this season and enters this game with a slightly better record with a record of 7-1 while Illinois is 6-1 and is the higher-ranked team in both the AP and Coaches Poll. The Owls have also been the better team at covering the spread this season as they are 6-2 ATS overall while the Fighting Illini are 3-4 ATS overall which is why I am laying the points with the Florida Atlantic Owls when they face the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday evening.