The No. 25 Illinois Fighting Illini and the Michigan Wolverines are set to square off in a Big Ten matchup at 9 p.m. ET on Friday at the State Farm Center. The Fighting Illini are 12-3 overall and 7-1 at home, while Michigan is 7-6 overall and 2-3 on the road. It’s been a rivalry that Michigan has historically dominated but Illinois has won and covered in the last three head-to-head matchups.
Illinois most recently won 76-53 over Michigan to cover by over 31 points as 8.5-point underdogs. This time around, the Fighting Illini are favored by 9.5 points in the latest Illinois vs. Michigan odds from Caesars Sportsbook, and the over-under is set at 145.5. Before entering any Michigan vs. Illinois picks, you’ll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of over $2,200 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Illinois vs. Michigan. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for Michigan vs. Illinois:
- Illinois vs. Michigan spread: Illinois -9.5
- Illinois vs. Michigan over-under: 145.5 points
Featured Game | Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Michigan Wolverines
What you need to know about Illinois
Illinois was able to grind out a solid victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Tuesday, winning 81-71. Illinois guard Trent Frazier looked sharp in the victory as he had 29 points and five assists. Kofi Cockburn also notched his eighth consecutive double-double and his 10th overall in 12 games with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Cockburn has looked like he belongs in the national player of the year conversation and is averaging 22.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game in his third year on campus in Champaign. However, he does have only 17 points and 10 rebounds over 52 minutes in two career games against the Wolverines.
What you need to know about Michigan
Meanwhile, Michigan came up short against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights last Tuesday, falling 75-67. A silver lining for Michigan was the play of center Hunter Dickinson, who had 25 points along with five boards. Dickinson is averaging 16.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season and he’ll have to show well in a matchup with Cockburn after going 1-for-8 with just six points and five rebounds against Illinois last season.
Juwan Howard’s squad has now lost three of its last four games and it has allowed the opponent to shoot at least 48 percent from the floor in the three losses. Michigan will need to play more assured defense against a dangerous Illinois lineup to come up with the upset.
How to make Illinois vs. Michigan picks
The model is leaning over on the total and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in nearly 60 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Michigan vs. Illinois? And which side of the spread hits nearly 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out, all from the model that has crushed its college basketball picks.