Brad Underwood and the Illinois basketball team have been putting on a show this season in the Big Ten.
The Illini, led by Wooden Award nominee Keaton Wagler, are on the fast track to a major NCAA tournament bid in the coming weeks. With an overall record of 23-7 and a Big Ten record of 14-5, the current projections have the Illini as a No. 2 seed in this year's March Madness bracket.
If the season were to end right now, this would be a sixth straight NCAA tournament appearance for the Illini under Underwood, as well as their fourth top-five postseason seeding in the last six years.
Illinois has been on such a heater all season long, to the point that the sportsbooks have taken notice of how dominant we could potentially be in March.
Illinois basketball is sitting with some of the best odds to win the national championship
As of writing this, the Illini are one of the top 10 teams in the country to cut down the nets on April 5. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Illinois currently has the sixth-best odds to win the 2026 national championship at +1800, ranked only behind;
- Michigan (+340)
- Duke (+360)
- Arizona (+550)
- Florida (+700)
- Houston (+1000)
This is a significant jump for Illinois when compared to earlier in the season, and it's a jump that we as Illini fans should certainly get behind. The fact that you can still get this team at +1800 with how far they've come is a blessing in disguise, and needs to be taken advantage of by the masses.
Illinois' current odds are an absolute steal for anyone who's looking for a team to responsibly bet on throughout the tournament. The Illini, who are ranked No. 5 in the NET rankings, currently have the most efficient offense in the country. They have been stellar when it comes to putting the ball in the hoop, scoring 84.5 points per game on average while posting a 15.4 point differential.
The biggest problem, however, is the fact that they haven't been stellar against Quad 1 teams this season. Illinois may be No. 5 in the NET Rankings, but they've only won eight of their fourteen games against the top-tier programs on their schedule.
Regardless of that, Illinois is going to make a deep run in this tournament, depending on their draw. This team has beaten some of the top schools in the nation, including Texas Tech, Purdue, Tennessee, and Nebraska. They have a deep roster led by Wagler and Kylan Boswell, and have plenty of talent to make any game competitive.
Overall, this isn't a green light to lay large sums of money on the blue and orange, but it is a bit of a nudge in the right direction when it comes to picking a team. Don't be afraid to sprinkle a little bit on the boys from Champaign before the odds get smaller, or else you may end up kicking yourself down the road.