Illinois at Northwestern odds, picks and predictions
The No. 11 Illinois Fighting Illini (14-4, 5-2 Big Ten) and Northwestern Wildcats (13-5, 4-3) meet Wednesday, scheduled to tip from Welsh-Ryan Arena at 9 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook's lines around the Illinois vs. Northwestern odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
Illinois routed the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 86-63 Sunday, covering as an 11-point home favorite. Illinois has eclipsed the 85-point mark in consecutive outings and has held opponents to 68 points or less in 3 of its last 4 contests. The Fighting Illini have won and covered the spread in back-to-back games.
Northwestern suffered a 75-69 loss at the hands of the Nebraska Cornhuskers Saturday while failing to cover as a 3-point road underdog. The Wildcats' offensive struggles have been on full display lately as they have been held to under 70 points in 2 of their last 3 games, going 1-2 straight up in that span.
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Illinois at Northwestern odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:18 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Illinois -170 (bet $170 to win $100) | Northwestern +140 (bet $100 to win $140)
- Against the spread (ATS): Illinois -3.5 (-110) | Northwestern +3.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 146.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Illinois at Northwestern picks and predictions
Prediction
Illinois 76, Northwestern 73
Moneyline
PASS.
Illini (-170) should come away with the win here, but they are just slightly too risky of a favorite to bet on. Back the spread and/or total instead.
Against the spread
LEAN NORTHWESTERN +3.5 (-110).
Northwestern has covered the spread in 5 of its last 6 battles with Illinois, including the last 2 meetings at home in Evanston.
This is a very slight lean because Illinois has been the much better ATS team this season. The Illini are 11-5-2 ATS, while Northwestern is 7-101, but the Wildcats' ATS dominance in recent matchups still makes them covering Wednesday the safer play.
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Over/Under
BET OVER 146.5 (-115).
The Over has hit in 3 consecutive games for Illinois and is 8-2 in its last 10 contests. Meanwhile, the Over is 6-0 in Northwestern's last 6.
The Over is the much safer bet for both teams this season -- they feature identical 11-7 O/U records.
Both teams are solid defensively, and Northwestern has struggled offensively, so this bet does come with a fair amount of risk. The Under has been safer in recent meetings between these squads, going 6-1.
However, the last matchup cashed an Over (140.5) ticket when Illinois won as a 5.5-point home favorite 96-66 Jan. 2.
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