The final week of the Big Ten’s regular season is underway. Tonight, in Champaign, the Fighting Illini of Illinois (22-7, 13-5) look to get the train back on the tracks when they take the court against the Oregon Ducks (11-18, 4-14).
After starting the season 20-3, Illinois has lost two in a row and four of six (three in overtime) dropping to fourth in the Big 10 behind Michigan, Nebraska, and Michigan State. Getting things back in working order begins with a rediscovery and commitment to their core identity: playing smart basketball on the defensive end and pounding the glass.
Illinois was outrebounded 34-30 last Friday night and fell at home to No. 3 Michigan, 84-70. A tightly contested ball game was blown open when Michigan went on a 22-6 run in the second half to build a 21-point lead, 75-54, with just under seven minutes to play. Keaton Wagler led Illinois in the loss with 23 points.
Trying to salvage their season after a 1-11 start in Big Ten play, the Oregon Ducks have won three of their past five including a 71-70 win at USC on February 21, and at home against Wisconsin, 85-71, just four days later. Their defense really stepped up in those games, holding both opponents below 40% from the field.
This past Saturday, Oregon fell to Northwestern, 63-62. Kwame Evans Jr. grabbed a career-high 15 boards and scored 15 pts for his fourth double-double this season, and Oregon outrebounded Northwestern 37-32. So how did they lose? The Ducks shot just 39% from the field and lost the turnover battle.
Illinois has a record of 8-6 in Q1 games and is 6-1 in Q2. Oregon is 1-12 in Q1 and 1-5 in Quad 2 games. The Ducks are ranked No. 5 in KenPom and No. 5 in the NET. Oregon is ranked No. 98 in KenPom and 107th in the NET.
Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings 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 and How to Watch Live: Oregon at Illinois
- Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026
- Time: 9PM EST
- Site: State Farm Center
- City: Champaign, IL
- Network/Streaming: Peacock
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Game Odds: Oregon at Illinois
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Oregon Ducks (+1000), Illinois Fighting Illini (-1800)
- Spread: Illinois -19.5
- Total: 145.5 points
This game opened Illinois -19.5 with the Total set at 146.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NCAA Basketball schedule!
Expected Starting Lineups: Oregon at Illinois
Oregon Ducks
- G Takai Simpkins
- G Drew Carter
- F Sean Stewart
- F Kwame Evans Jr.
- C Nate Bittle
Illinois Fighting Illini
- G Kylan Boswell
- G Keaton Wagler
- F Jake Davis
- F David Mirkovic
- C Tomislav Ivisic
Injury Report: Oregon at Illinois
Oregon Ducks
- Jackson Shelstad (hand) has been declared OUT of tonight’s game
- Devon Pryor (groin) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
- Ege Demir (shoulder) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
Illinois Fighting Illini
- Jason Jakstys (undisclosed) has been declared OUT of tonight’s game
- Ty Rodgers (knee) is listed as questionable for tonight’s game
Important stats, trends and insights: Oregon at Illinois
- Illinois is 13-3 at home this season
- Oregon is 2-7 on the road this season
- Oregon is 11-18 ATS overall this season / 11-5 ATS on the road
- Illinois is 16-13 ATS overall this season / 8-8 ATS at home
- The OVER has cashed in 11 of Oregon’s 29 games this season (11-18)
- The OVER has cashed in 16 of Illinois’ 29 games this season (16-13)
- Oregon leads the all-time series between the schools 2-1 / 2-1 as well ATS
- 113 of 125 FG attempts for Jake Davis have been 3’s
- Keaton Wagler broke Illinois’ Freshman scoring record of 494 pts (currently has 532), held by Kasparas Jakucionis (’24-25) and Cory Bradford (’98-99)
- The Illini commit the fewest fouls in the Big Ten (13.2 per game) which ranks No. 2 overall in Division 1
- Illinois leads the Big Ten and is No. 6 overall in Division 1 shooting 79.1% from the charity stripe
Rotoworld Best Bet
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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 recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections 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 Tuesday’s game between Oregon and Illinois:
- Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline
- Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning believe it or not towards a play on Illinois -18.5
- Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 146.5
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