A consolation battle in the 2024 Boardwalk Battle will take place on Friday as the UIC Flames take on the La Salle Explorers. Both teams lost their Boardwalk Battle 2024 openers on Thursday, putting them into the loser’s bracket but still guaranteed to play in two more games. UIC (3-2) dropped a 99-81 contest to James Madison and is coming off a 12-21 record a year ago. La Salle (4-1) lost 72-67 to UC San Diego and went 16-17 in Fran Dunphy’s second year with the program in 2023-24.

Tipoff is at 11 a.m. ET from the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. The latest UIC vs. La Salle odds have the Explorers favored by 2.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. The over/under for total points is 148. Before making any La Salle vs. UIC picks, you need to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model. 

The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 3 of the 2024-25 season on a 156-114 betting roll (+1762) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has dialed in on La Salle vs. Illinois-Chicago and just revealed its coveted picks and predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are the college basketball betting lines and trends for UIC vs. La Salle:

• La Salle vs. UIC spread: Explorers -2.5
• La Salle vs. UIC over/under: 148 points 
• La Salle vs. UIC money line: Explorers -135, Flames +113
• La Salle vs. UIC picks: See picks at SportsLine
• La Salle vs. UIC streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)

Why La Salle can cover

The Explorers fell into a 14-point hole just six minutes into Thursday’s loss to UCSD, which was too much to overcome, but La Salle controlled the game thereafter. It outscored UC San Diego by nine points over the last 34 minutes of the game, which should give it confidence entering Friday. Rider transfer Corey McKeithan had 21 points in the defeat and is putting up a team-high of 18.6 points per game. Demetrius Lilley had 12 rebounds versus the Tritons, ranks second in the A-10 with 9.6 boards, and should be able to control the glass versus a UIC team with no players taller than 6-foot-9.

The Explorers are able to get easy points thanks to their knack for drawing fouls and getting to the charity stripe. The team is averaging 24 free throw attempts per game, while only sending its opponents to the line 16.6 times per game. Free throw line discrepancy has been an issue for UIC all season as it just allowed JMU to make more free throws (21) than UIC even attempted (19) on Thursday. Additionally, the Flames are converting at just a 67% clip from the line, which ranks 270th amongst Division I programs. See who to back at SportsLine.

Why UIC can cover

UIC is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the nation early in the 2024-25 season, knocking down shots from beyond the arc at a 40.8% clip. It is efficient inside the arc as well as the Flames are knocking down 52.6% of all field goals, which is a big improvement over the 43.8% mark they were at last season. Coach Rob Ehsan has made a discernible impact in his first year with the program, especially on offense as UIC has already scored 81-plus points four times this season in regulation, after having five such games all of last year.

The Flames also have had considerable spread success against unfamiliar foes recently. They are 10-3 against the spread (ATS) in non-conference games since the start of last season, and that 76.9% cover rate is the sixth-best mark in all of college basketball over that span (min. five games). Conversely, La Salle hasn’t shown much resiliency lately, as it is just 5-10 ATS (33.3%) after a defeat since the 2023-24 season. See who to back at SportsLine.

How to make La Salle vs. UIC picks

SportsLine’s model has simulated UIC vs. La Salle 10,000 times and is leaning Over on the total. It also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations. You can see the model’s pick at SportsLine.

So who wins La Salle vs. UIC, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the UIC vs. La Salle spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up well over $2,000 on top-rated spread picks since its inception, and find out.