Follow all of Nick Giffen's NCAA Basketball player prop picks in the Action App.
Last year, I had a +98.8 units college basketball season on player props, including a 75-31 (70.8%) run for +47.65u in the NCAA Tournament alone.
After hitting this player prop in the non-conference, I'm back for one in the Illinois vs. Nebraska game on Thursday.
College Basketball Player Props for Illinois vs. Nebraska
Illinois 7-foot-1 center Tomislav Ivisic is out with mono, and backup Morez Johnson gets in foul trouble a lot.
With two high-rebounding guys either out or potentially in foul trouble, that opens up a lot of opportunities on the glass for Nebraska's Berke Buyuktuncel.
Nebraska 7-foot-1 center Braxton Meah was benched in the Huskers' last game, and again, that could open up more boards and more minutes for Buyuktuncel.
Illinois plays at a top-five pace and chucks 3s at a top 25 rate, which means lower percentage shots come into play.
Illinois' defense forces teams to miss (seventh-best effective field goal percentage defense) and forces turnovers at a bottom 20 rate. The Illini also foul at 43rd-lowest rate, so more possessions end in missed shots than free throws.
I'm projecting 5.8 rebounds with a higher ceiling if he plays more than the 25 minutes I'm projecting (played 27 and 30 each of the last two games)
Pick: Berke Buyuktuncel Over 4.5 Rebounds (-105, BetMGM) | Alt 6+ Rebounds (+180, DraftKings) | Alt 7+ Rebounds (+370, DraftKings)
