The Ohio State Buckeyes (11-8, 1-4 Big Ten) and Illinois Fighting Illini (13-6, 9-2) are lined up for a Tuesday evening Big Ten battle on the hardwood. The contest at the State Farm Center in Champaign will tip off at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Ohio State at Illinois odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Ohio State has had an abysmal January. The Buckeyes are coming off a 93-77 win over Iowa (Saturday), but that win as a -3 favorite snapped a 5-game losing streak (straight up and against the spread). Saturday’s win over the Hawkeyes was in Columbus; OSU is just 1-5 across its last 6 road/neutral games.
Illinois is the opposite side of that coin. The Illini lost Saturday (80-65 vs. Indiana), snapping a 4-game SU and ATS win streak. UI shot just 38.7% from the floor in that game; the Illini had a similar number from the foul line, where they went 9-for-21 (39.1%).
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Ohio State at Illinois odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:10 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Ohio State +150 (bet $100 to win $150) | Illinois -200 (bet $200 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Ohio State +3.5 (+100) | Illinois -3.5 (-120)
- Over/Under (O/U): 145.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Ohio State at Illinois picks and predictions
Prediction
Illinois 71, Ohio State 68
Moneyline
You can’t risk twice your return and expect to have success in the long run.
PASS.
Against the spread
OSU is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 series meetings.
Ohio State has some bad luck weaved into its scoring-vs.-game results. To that end, KenPom still pegs the Buckeyes 19th in NCAA-I. OSU logged a 62.5% effective field-goal mark in its last game, and that was after a string of shaky shooting performances. Ohio State has a history of clumping its fine shooting percentages together.
Peg the BUCKEYES +3.5 (+100) as a partial-unit play in a game that has a moderate-to-strong lean on the Under.
Over/Under
The pace matchup here is moderate (Ohio State) versus fast (Illinois), and that has the total a few clicks too high.
The Illini’s pace trend line is one moving toward more moderate paces. They get a lot of points from distance, but perimeter defense is a strength for OSU. The Buckeyes take good care of the ball, likely to a point slowing UI’s transition game.
BACK THE UNDER 145.5 (-115).
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