Illinois basketball is doing a lot of winning right now, and that will hopefully continue on Tuesday against Nebraska.
This past Saturday, the Illini went up to Madison and came away with a big road win over Wisconsin. Illinois is now on a two-game winning streak, and we have won six out of the last seven contests.
Our record this year betting Illinois is 6-5 moneyline, 4-7 spread, and 7-5 over/under. For the first time this season, I hit all three bets, going 3-0 in the Wisconsin game. Let’s see if this hot streak will keep moving on.
Here are the Illinois basketball betting odds, predictions, and game info against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Odds
Illinois basketball vs. Nebraska – Moneyline
Understandably, the Illini are opening the Nebraska game up as large favorites. The moneyline is -475 for Illinois and +350 for the Cornhuskers.
Advice
I think this is a pretty easy bet, but you won’t get too much back in return.
Nebraska is not a good team this season. While they started 6-3 and had a big win over then-No. 7 Creighton, the Cornhuskers have since struggled.
Entering Tuesday night, Nebraska sits with a 10-12 record overall and they are 3-8 in the Big Ten. They have also dropped six out of their last eight games.
On the road, in particular, the Cornhuskers have been bad. Besides the outlier Creighton win, Nebraska is 1-7 on the road with their only win coming in overtime against the worst team in the Big Ten, Minnesota.
In the seven losses on the road, Nebraska is losing those games by an average of 16.7 points in each contest.
Nebraska is also going up against a decently hot Illinois team on Tuesday night. As mentioned above, the Illini have rattled off six wins in the last seven games. The only loss came against Indiana when Matthew Mayer was sick.
A hot Illinois team is at home against a bad Nebraska program. The Cornhuskers are losing their road tilts to good teams by double-digit points every night. I think this is an easy moneyline game to bet.
Prediction – Illinois -475
Illinois basketball vs. Nebraska – Spread
The spread in the Illinois vs Nebraska game is a little more interesting. As of right now, Las Vegas has the Illini as 13.5-point favorites over the Cornhuskers.
Advice
Nebraska is average or below average at just about everything on the basketball court.
I fully expect the Cornhuskers to put up a pretty low-scoring total on Tuesday night. They shoot 20.4 three-pointers per game and only make them at a clip of 30.6%, which ranks No. 319 out of 363 DI programs.
Illinois has been shutting opponents down from three-point range this season, as we only allow teams to shoot 31.7% from distance. That is good enough to rank No. 80 in the country. So, don’t expect much production from Nebraska outside of the three-point arc.
The Cornhuskers are a much better team inside the three-point arc, though. They are hitting 52.2% from the field, which ranks No. 94 in the nation. Forward Derrick Walker is the driving force behind the solid shooting percentage. He is averaging 13.8 points per game and shooting 60.3% from the field.
Nebraska will likely continue to lean on Walker, but the last time these two teams played, the Illini shut him down for just five points, four rebounds, and three assists.
Illinois dominated Nebraska in a 26-point victory on January 10. That was a fully healthy Cornhuskers squad. They have lost two starters for the rest of the season since that game.
I just don’t see this game being close. I have Illinois by at least 20 points.
Prediction – Illinois -13.5
Illinois basketball vs. Nebraska – Over/Under
We hit the under 131.5 in the Wisconsin game, and now Las Vegas is coming out and setting the Nebraska game at an over/under of 136.5 points.
Advice
This over/under intrigues me greatly. Nebraska is not scoring at a high clip by any means.
The Cornhuskers are averaging 59.8 points per game in the last six contests. On top of the lack of scoring, they are a relatively slow-moving team. They only average 68.9 possessions per game, which ranks No. 246 in the country.
Nebraska’s slow pace and their defensive abilities also force opponents to score fewer points. The Cornhuskers are only allowing 68.4 points per game this season, which ranks No. 130 in the nation.
Illinois hasn’t exactly been a scoring juggernaut lately either. We are only averaging 70.6 points per game in the last six contests.
The last game ended up with a total of 126 points. I could see this one landing between 126 and 136. I see a score of 78-55 in favor of the Illini.
Prediction – Under 136.5 points
Illinois basketball vs. Nebraska – Game Info
Date & Time: January 31 – 6:00 p.m. CT
TV: Big Ten Network
Streaming: Fubo TV