The Illinois Fighting Illini (8-3 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) travel upstate for a Thursday night battle against the Northwestern Wildcats (6-3, 3-2). The all-Illinois tilt at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston is slated for a 9 p.m. ET tip. Below, we analyze the Illinois-Northwestern college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Illinois is No. 12 in the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Illinois at Northwestern: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated 12:20 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Illinois -300 (bet $300 to win $100) | Northwestern +240 (bet $100 to win $240)
- Against the spread/ATS: Illinois -6.5 (-110) | Northwestern +6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 148.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Illinois at Northwestern: Three things to know
- Northwestern dropped out of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll after losing games at Iowa and Michigan last week. NU was out-rebounded in both of those losses and has now been outdone on the boards in all five of its Big Ten games. The Wildcats are an above-average team on the defensive glass, but offensive rebounding analytics peg Northwestern as a bottom-50 team.
- Illinois swept two games from NU last season (75-71 at home, 74-66 in Evanston) and has won four in a row against the Wildcats (all four decided by 8 or fewer points). Against the spread, the Illini are 9-1-1 in 11 head-to-head games since 2015. Six-foot-5 G Ayo Dosunmu averaged 18.0 points and 5.0 assists per game in last season’s UI wins over Northwestern. Dosunmu leads this year’s team in scoring, at 23.0 points per game.
- The Illini are shooting 41.8% from 3-point range this season. That mark ranks eighth in the nation. The Wildcats rank right behind at 41.1%, good for 11th. Threes account for a larger portion of the NU offense, as the Wildcats attempt 23.2 triples per game, 5.5 more than Illinois.
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Illinois at Northwestern: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Illinois 82, Northwestern 71
Money line (ML)
Illinois is the hard lean, but the -300 price here is exorbitant. STEER CLEAR.
Against the spread (ATS)
Illinois was sharp in its last road game, a 98-81 win at Penn State Dec. 23. Two road games back was a disappointment at Rutgers with a 91-88 loss Dec. 20. UI led most of the way but was uncharacteristically shaky on the defensive glass and was outscored 25-11 at the free-throw line.
Peg this one as a possibility for getting away from Northwestern if 3s don’t fall.
BACK THE ILLINI -6.5 (-110).
Over/Under (O/U)
THE OVER 148.5 (-110) IS A STRONG PLAY.
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