The Illinois Fighting Illini (22-12) take the court in Round 2 of the NCAA Tournament against the Kentucky Wildcats (23-11) in Milwaukee, WI.
The No. 6 seed in the Midwest, Illinois outslugged Xavier, 86-73. Will Riley led the way for the Illini with 22 points and Tomislav Ivisic added 20 points and ten rebounds. As a team, Illinois shot 40% (12-30) from beyond the arc.
The No. 3 seed Wildcats defeated Troy University 76-57 in the first round. Otega Oweh led the attack with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Kentucky ranks sixth nationally averaging 85.0 points per game.
Both teams are highly efficient offensively. Kentucky ranks 12th in adjusted offensive efficiency, while Illinois is close behind at 13th. The Wildcats play at the 22nd-fastest pace nationally, with Illinois slightly faster at 17th.
The winner of this game will advance to the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis against the winner of the UCLA vs. Tennessee game.
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch Illinois vs. Kentucky
- Date: Sunday, March 23, 2025
- Time: 5:15PM EST
- Site: Fiserv Forum
- City: Milwaukee, WI
- Network/Streaming: CBS
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for Illinois vs. Kentucky
The latest odds as of Saturday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Illinois Fighting Illini (-125), Kentucky Wildcats (-+105)
- Spread: Fighting Illini -1.5
- Total: 170.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Illinois vs. Kentucky
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Sunday’s Fighting Illini & Wildcats game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on Illinois on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play ATS on Illinois -1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total UNDER 170.5.
Illinois vs. Kentucky: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Illinois has won outright and covered the spread in 5 of their last 6 games
- Illinois Game Totals have gone 3/3 (O/U) in their last 6 games
- Kentucky is 6-4 outright and 5-5 against the spread in their last 10 games
- Kentucky Game Totals have gone 5-4-1 (O/U) in their last 10 games
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
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· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
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· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
