Kenny Smith taunts Clark Kellogg as CBS analyst picks Illinois over Kentucky

Clark Kellogg isn’t a believer in Kentucky. On Sunday, the March Madness analyst picked 6-seed Illinois to down the Wildcats to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

“High-octane offense both ways. The Illini when they’re on, they have been dominating and they were really good the other night. They’ve been really good in spots. I think they’re healthy,” Kellogg said. “I’ve got the Illini splashing 3’s and gobbling up offensive rebounds.”

Oddsmakers seemingly agree with Kellogg. Illinois is a 1.5-point favorite against Kentucky, according to FanDuel.

The Fighting Illini looked excellent in their 86-73 win over Xavier in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. In the victory, Illinois was red-hot from downtown, connecting on 12-of-its-30 (40%) attempts from beyond the arc.

"I've got the Illini splashing threes and gobbling up offensive rebounds."

— @ClarkKelloggCBS is taking @IlliniMBB over Kentucky pic.twitter.com/sxelZijDSE

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2025

Illinois dominated the glass as well, hauling in 10 offensive rebounds compared to Xavier’s mere five. The Fighting Illini’s extra efforts weren’t in vain. The team finished the game with twice as many second-chance points as Xavier.

Alas, Kellogg’s co-hosts weren’t quite as confident in Illinois. Kenny Smith and Wally Szczerbiak both picked Kentucky to win on Sunday night. Smith even interrupted Kellogg after he began to compliment the Fighting Illini.

In fairness, teams haven’t had much luck from downtown against Kentucky this season. The Wildcats have held their opponents to just 30.6% from 3-point range this season.

Kentucky’s luck didn’t change in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In their 76-57 win over Troy, the Wildcats only allowed the Trojans to connect on 8-32 (25%) of their shots from downtown. However, it’s worth noting Kentucky had trouble limiting preventing offensive rebounds — Kellogg’s other key to the game.

Of course, Kentucky isn’t going into the game blind, either. Ahead of the Round-of-32 showdown, Kentucky guard Koby Brea discussed the Fighting Illini’s strengths.

“It’s a really, really good team,” Brea said. “They’re really physical and aggressive, shooting a lot of 3s. Their offensive rebounding is off the charts, as well. They’re really good at that. It’s a top-25 defensive team. We’ve just got to be willing to make them take hard shots and just try to rebound as best as possible, make sure that we box out and get everybody off the glass.

“Offensively, just doing what we always do. Our game plan doesn’t really change much against any team. We stay true to what we’re doing most of the time. When we do that and execute the right way, then we come out with a pretty good chance to win.”

Kentucky and Illinois will square off at 5:15 p.m. ET. The game will air live on CBS.