While the Illinois Fighting Illini punched their ticket to the Final Four nearly a day ago, they didn't know who their opponent would be until now.
The UConn Huskies just produced an incredible comeback victory over the Duke Blue Devils to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2024, when they secured their second consecutive National Championship.
Now, the Illini and the Huskies are set to meet in the Final Four, and it should be a showtime for the ages, even though the Vegas oddsmakers are already leaning toward Illinois and away from UConn.
2026 Final Four opening odds Illinois vs. Duke/UConn
- Spread: -2.5 Illinois
- Money line: -134 Illinois, +112 UConn
- Over/Under: +/-139.5 points
Odds are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are liable to change at any time.
As the higher-seeded team, it wouldn't have been all that surprising that the Huskies are favored over the Fighting Illini, even though Illinois has been undeniably dominant so far this NCAA Tournament.
However, despite being the lower-seeded and lower-ranked team in the national standings, head coach Brad Underwood and the Fighting Illini are favored to disappoint Dan Hurley and the Huskies in their semifinal meeting.
While the Huskies are fresh off their narrow win over the Blue Devils, the Illini just dominated the Iowa Hawkeyes by 12 points in their Elite Eight meeting, giving Illinois a brand new wave of confidence as the team makes its way to the Final Four for the first time in over two decades.
On Saturday, April 4, the No. 3-seed Illinois Fighting Illini and the No. 2-seed UConn Huskies will face off in the Final Four. The game will be aired on TBS and HBO Max, and will tip off at 5:09 p.m. CT.