Tag: Northwestern Wildcats vs. Illinois Fighting Illini odds predictions pick betting line spread

Northwestern at Illinois odds, picks and predictions

Analyzing Thursday’s Northwestern Wildcats at Illinois odds and lines, with college basketball expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The No. 22 Northwestern Wildcats (20-7, 11-5 Big Ten) and Illinois Fighting Illini (18-9, 9-7) resume their rivalry Thursday in Champaign. Tip-off at the State Farm Center is at 9 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Northwestern vs. Illinois odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.

Northwestern has won 5 straight games and 8 of its last 9. The Wildcats defeated Illinois 73-60 as 3.5-point home underdogs on Jan. 4 (finishing as a plus-8 in turnovers that game) and are looking for their 1st 2-game season sweep of the Illini since 1965-66.

After back-to-back road losses at Penn State and Indiana, the Fighting Illini returned home to beat Minnesota 78-69 on Monday, but did not cover as 13.5-point favorites. Illinois is 13-2 on its home floor. UI had won 8 in a row against NU until the Jan. 4 loss.

Rankings courtesy the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

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Northwestern at Illinois odds

Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 11:51 p.m. ET.

  • Moneyline: Off the board
  • Against the spread (ATS): Northwestern +5.5 (-115) | Illinois -5.5 (-105)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 136.5 (O: -105 | U: -115 )

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Northwestern at Illinois picks and predictions

Prediction

Illinois 72, Northwestern 65

Moneyline

Not available.

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Against the spread

The Fighting Illini are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games against winning teams.

UI is susceptible to turnovers leading to some edge for the visitors, but give the Illini an edge in cranking out the better looks around the rim and crashing the boards to create extra chances.

This contest marks NU’s first on the road after 3 straight home games.

BACK THE ILLINI -5.5 (-105).

Over/Under

There are plenty of scoring spiral factors at work here: NU points off turnovers. UI 2nd-chance points and free throws. Both sides shoot a lot of 3s; either could run into a few in short order.

BACK THE OVER 136.5 (-105).

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Northwestern at Illinois odds, picks and prediction

Previewing Tuesday’s Northwestern Wildcats at Illinois Fighting Illini odds and lines, with college basketball picks, tips and predictions.

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. 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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