Rutgers at Illinois odds, picks and prediction

Analyzing Saturday’s Rutgers at Illinois odds and lines, with college football expert picks, predictions and best bets.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-4, 0-4 Big Ten) take on the Illinois Fighting Illini (3-5, 2-3) in Champagne, Ill. this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Rutgers at Illinois odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.

If you would have told Illini fans before the season that they would have wins over Nebraska and Penn State, they would have taken it. But those are Illinois’ only two conference wins, and the Penn State win last week came via a 9-OT slugfest that finished 20-18 (not a typo). Illinois has one of the worst offenses in the country (4.7 yards per play; 117th nationally), and the defense is giving up 23.8 points per game.

Rankings according to the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

Rutgers hasn’t fared much better. It is winless in conference play thus far, it enters this matchup on a four-game losing streak and the offense is right on par with Illinois’ in terms of yards per play. After covering the spread in each of its first four games, the Scarlet Knights have failed to cover any of its last three games.

Rutgers at Illinois odds, spread and lines

Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 7:45 a.m. ET.

  • Money line: Rutgers -117 (bet $117 to win $100) | Illinois -103 (bet $103 to win $100)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Rutgers -1.5 (-105) | Illinois +1.5 (-115)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 41.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)

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Indiana at Maryland odds, lines, picks and predictions

Prediction

Illinois 24, Rutgers 20

Money line

There’s some letdown potential for Illinois after the big Penn State win, but Rutgers has been outscored 104-33 in its last three games against No. 5 Ohio State, No. 7 Michigan State and Northwestern. Until Rutgers shows it can win a Power 5 game—which it hasn’t since Week 2 at Syracuse—we’ll lean on Illinois (-103) to win outright.

Against the spread

This game is essentially a pick ’em, so it’s usually a good idea to PASS on the spread and target the preferred team on the money line for better odds.

Over/Under

We touched on the utter futility of each team’s offense above, so it’s no surprise to see such a low number here. Neither defense is all that great either—Rutgers ranks 84th in yards allowed per play while Illinois is 92nd.

This can still be an ugly game and hit the OVER 41.5 (-108).

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Rutgers vs. Illinois odds, picks and prediction

Previewing Friday’s Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs. Illinois Fighting Illini odds and lines, with college basketball betting picks, tips and predictions.

The second-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini (20-6) take on the seventh-seeded Rutgers Scarlet Knights (15-10) Friday in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Below, we analyze the Rutgers-Illinois odds and lines with NCAA men’s basketball picks and predictions.

The Illini are No. 3 in the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports. They are among four Big Ten teams in the top 10, joined by No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Iowa and No. 10 Ohio State.

The Rutgers-Illinois winner advances to a Saturday semifinal against the winner of Friday night’s Iowa-Wisconsin tilt.

Rutgers vs. Illinois: Odds, spread and lines

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:50 a.m. ET.

  • Money line: Rutgers +280 (bet $100 to win $280) | Illinois -350 (bet $350 to win $100)
  • Against the spread/ATS: Rutgers +7.5 (-110) | Illinois -7.5 (-110)
  • Over/Under: 136.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)

Rutgers vs. Illinois: Three things to know

  1. Rutgers beat Illinois 91-88 Dec. 20 in the lone regular-season meeting between the two. The Scarlet Knights, who were 1.5-point home underdogs, were ranked No. 17 at the time, and the Illini were No. 13. Junior G Ron Harper Jr. scored a team-high 28 points for Rutgers, which rallied from an 11-point, first-half deficit, produced an 18-5 run in the second half and held on late for the win.
  2. Rutgers eliminated Indiana 61-50 Thursday in its Big Ten tourney opener. Trailing 48-47 with 9:48 to go, Rutgers held IU scoreless for six-plus minutes to pull away. Harper Jr. led the Knights with 13 points and 11 rebounds, C Myles Johnson added 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds and senior G Jacob Young also scored 13 points. The game finished well Under the O/U line of 129.5.
  3. This will be the Illini’s first game in the 2021 Big Ten tourney. They earned a bye as the second seed. Illinois, winners in 11 of its last 12, enters on a four-game win-and-cover streak. Junior G Ayo Dosunmu leads the Illini with 20.9 PPG and 5.2 APG, while sophomore C Kofi Cockburn pulls down a team-high 9.6 RPG. In the December loss to Rutgers, Dosunmu tallied 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Cockburn had 17 points and 12 boards.

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Rutgers vs. Illinois: Odds, lines, predictions and picks

Prediction

Illinois 76, Rutgers 64

Money line (ML)

PASS. The Illini are well-rested and won’t have a problem knocking off the Scarlet Knights, but the -350 ML price is too chalky.

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Against the spread (ATS)

ILLINOIS -7.5 (-110) is the STRONGEST PLAY – 1½ times your usual wager. The Illini’s loss at the Scarlet Knights in December was an anomaly. The Illini are a much better team.

Rutgers – which even with a loss here is expected to earn the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991 – will run out of gas in the second half since it played the night before.

ATS: Rutgers 13-11-1 | Illinois 16-9-1

Over/Under (O/U)

OVER 136.5 (-115) is the way to go. Illinois averages 80.7 PPG; Rutgers scores 70.0 PPG. Plus, the Over is 6-2-1 in the last nine head-to-head contests.

With this being a tournament game, expect more fouls/free-throw attempts than usual down the stretch.

O/U records: Rutgers 11-13-1 | Illinois 14-11-1

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JOHNNY PARLAY’S RECORD W-L SP ROI
College hoops since Jan. 1 68-60-1 30-33 +1.775
2021 record (all sports) 86-74-1 41-36 +10.1
*SP: Strongest plays; ROI: Return on investment

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