The No. 5 Illinois Fighting Illini (14-5 overall, 10-3 Big Ten) host the Northwestern Wildcats (6-12, 3-11) Tuesday. Tip-off for the in-state conference rivalry game is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. Below, we analyze the Northwestern-Illinois college basketball odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
With a 10-3 Big Ten record, Illinois is in second place in the conference behind Michigan (9-1). Northwestern is second-to-last at 3-11.
Northwestern at Illinois: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:15 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Northwestern +625 (bet $100 to win $625) | Illinois -1000 (bet $1,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Northwestern +12.5 (-110) | Illinois -12.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 143.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Northwestern at Illinois: Three things to know
- The Illini beat the Wildcats 81-56 as 6.5-point road favorites in the first meeting of the season. Northwestern led 43-28 at the half but was outscored 53-13 in the final 20 minutes. Sophomore C Kofi Cockburn led the Illini attack by scoring 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. He also had a game-high 12 rebounds.
- Northwestern is on an 11-game skid after opening the Big Ten season 3-0. The most recent setback was a 64-50 loss as an 8-point underdog at Rutgers Saturday. The Wildcats trailed 43-40 with 10:29 remaining before a Scarlet Knights 11-2 run sealed it. Sophomore G Chase Audige leads the Wildcats in scoring (12.8 points per game) and junior F Pete Nance leads in rebounds (6.8 RPG).
- Illinois, which enters on a 5-game win streak, is coming off a 77-72 overtime victory at Nebraska Friday. Junior G Ayo Dosunmu, who scored 22 of his game-high 31 points in the second half, took over down the stretch as Illinois overcame a 6-point deficit in the final 2:35. He scored the Illini’s final 10 points of regulation and the first 5 points of overtime as Illinois avoided an upset but failed to cover as a 14-point favorite. Dosunmu and Cockburn lead the Illini in scoring (21.7 PPG) and rebounds (10.6 RPG), respectively.
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Northwestern at Illinois: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Illinois 80, Northwestern 64
Money line (ML)
PASS. Illinois (-1000) will win, but betting a -1000 ML is not smart sports wagering.
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Against the spread (ATS)
ILLINOIS -12.5 (-110) is the STRONGEST PLAY – 1½ times your usual wager. The Illini are 9-1 ATS in the last 10 of this series and there’s no reason to think they can’t cover the spread again.
The ‘Cats are 1-8-1 ATS in their last 10 against an opponent with a winning record. They’re also 0-7 straight up in their last seven Big Ten road games, including five losses by double-digits and four by 14 or more points.
ATS: Northwestern 7-9-1 | Illinois 11-7-1
Over/Under (O/U)
PASS. The line of 143.5 is too close to the projected score. The Under is 5-1-1 in the Illini’s last seven home games; however, the possibility of a blowout would lead to late garbage points that could push this Over.
O/U records: Northwestern 10-7 | Illinois 10-8-1
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