Western Illinois Leathernecks

All 28 lined Leathernecks games in 2025-26 had them getting points, and they won two. Western Illinois was one of four Division I teams never favored in a lined game.

Twenty-eight lines, twenty-eight underdog prices

Western Illinois went 5-26, and three of the five wins were over Coe, St. Ambrose and Hannibal-LaGrange, outside Division I and unlined. In the 28 games the market priced, the Leathernecks were always the underdog. Only Gardner-Webb, Mississippi Valley State and North Florida shared that.

The two priced wins were 69-66 at North Dakota at +270 on 13 December, and 79-70 over Eastern Illinois at +164 on 10 February. One unit on Western Illinois in all 28 lost 21.66 units. Only Air Force and VMI lost more that way. Split by venue, it was 9.36 units lost in 12 priced home games and 12.3 in 16 on the road.

January: no wins, half the covers

The season opened with four road games, all lost, and three covered, getting as many as 30.5 at Iowa. Then came the stretch that matters most for the spread. January went 0-10 and cost 10 units, yet the Leathernecks covered five of those ten. They lost by two at Eastern Illinois getting 6.5, by seven at Little Rock getting 10.5, and by five at Morehead State getting 8.5.

February was the opposite: 1-7, and the only cover was the Eastern Illinois win. Over the season Western Illinois covered 11 of 28: 8 of 16 away, 3 of 12 at home.

Scoring

The Leathernecks scored 64.87 points a game, and only ten teams scored fewer; they allowed 76.81. The heaviest defeats were 108-57 at Drake in December and 84-44 at home to UT Martin in January. Western Illinois totals split 13 over, 15 under.

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