Its Tuesday, February 25, and the Iowa Hawkeyes (15-12, 6-10) and the Fighting Illini of Illinois (17-11, 9- 8) meet tonight at State Farm Center in Champaign.
Illinois may well still be reeling from Saturday’s embarrassment at MSG. The Fighting Illini lost to Duke 110-67. It was worse than the score suggests. It was Ilinois’ third straight loss and dropped them into a tie for seventh in the Big Ten. A loss tonight could target them for a ninth or even a tenth-place finish in the conference.
Iowa won Saturday at home against Washington, 85-79 to snap a modest two-game losing streak. It was the Hawkeyes’ twelfth home win of the season.
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 Iowa at Illinois
- Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2025
- Time: 9:00PM EST
- Site: State Farm Center
- City: Champaign, IL
- Network/Streaming: FS1
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 Hawkeyes at Fighting Illini
*odds courtesy of BetMGM
- Odds: Iowa Hawkeyes (+400), Illinois Fighting Illini (-550)
- Spread: Fighting Illini -10.5
- Total: 171.5 points
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Expert picks & predictions for Iowa at Illinois
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) sees this as a get right spot for the Illini: Illinois Fighting Illini -9.5
“What better opponent to face coming off a three-game losing streak against top 25 opponents than Iowa? The Hawkeyes are coming off a win against Washington and this is supposed to be one of the easiest wins of the season for the Illini according to Kenpom and Barttorvik who give them an 83 and 87% chance of winning. This is the first meeting of the season and Iowa’s dealt with injuries, plus lost 101-75 in its last road game at Maryland. Give me the Illini -9.5 out to -10.
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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 today’s Hawkeyes & Fighting Illini game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on Illinois on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Iowa Hawkeyes at +9.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the under on the Game Total of 171.5.
Hawkeyes vs Fighting Illini: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Illinois has won 4 straight home games against Iowa
- The Over is 14-5-1 for Illinois’ last 10 at home and Iowa’s last 10 on the road combined
- The Over is 4-1 in Illinois’ last five games overall
- Illinois is 1-8-1 against the spread in its 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!
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
