Fresh off a first round win over Ohio State, the Iowa Hawkeyes (17-15, 8-13) take the court against the Fighting Illini of Illinois (20-11, 11-8).
The Hawkeyes upset Ohio State, 77-70, yesterday in their opening round game. Iowa shot 41.7% from deep (10-24) in potentially derailing the Buckeyes’ NCAA Tournament hopes.
Illinois closed the regular season with three straight wins. Their last game was last Friday. They defended their home court, knocking off Purdue, 88-80.
These teams met in Champaign, IL on February 25 with Illinois rolling over Iowa, 81-61. Tomilsav Ivisic led the Illini with 22 points knocking down 9 of 13 shots.
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 vs. Illinois
- Date: Thursday, March 13, 2025
- Time: 6:30PM EST
- Site: Gainbridge Fieldhouse
- City: Indianapolis, IN
- Network/Streaming: BTN
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 Iowa vs. Illinois
The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Iowa Hawkeyes (+425), Illinois Fighting Illini (-600)
- Spread: Fightin Illini -10.5
- Total: 166.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Iowa vs. Illinois
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 today’s Hawkeyes & Fighting Illini game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on Iowa +10.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total OVER 165.5.
Iowa vs. Illinois: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Iowa is 3-6-1 against the spread in their last 10 and 11-19-1 ATS this season
- Illinois has covered the spread in their last 3 games and is 15-15-1 for the season ATS
- Illinois has cashed the OVER in 4 of their last 5 games
- Illinois has won 8 of their last 10 against Iowa and covered the spread in 7 of those 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)
