UConn vs. Illinois prediction, odds: College basketball picks from proven model

An elite non-conference matchup unfolds Friday at Madison Square Garden when the No. 5 UConn Huskies take on the No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini. UConn is 5-1 with its loss coming against Arizona, while Illinois is 6-1, only falling to Alabama. Both sides are just 1-3 against the spread in their last four outings. 

Tipoff is at 12:30 p.m. ET. The latest UConn vs. Illinois odds list the Huskies as 1.5-point favorites, while the over/under is 154.5. Before making any Illinois vs. UConn picks, check out the men’s college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.

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The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times and has returned over $2,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks over the past three seasons. Anyone following its college basketball betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.    

Now, the model has simulated UConn vs. Illinois 10,000 times and just revealed its college basketball picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several men’s college basketball odds and men’s college basketball betting lines for Illinois vs. Connecticut: 

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How to make UConn vs. Illinois picks

SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (154.5 points). Both teams have a high-level scorer as Alex Karaban (14.3 ppg) of Illinois and Andrej Stojakovic (18.5 ppg) of UConn lead their respective squads.

Illinois averages 94.6 points per game, while UConn averages 83.8. They likely won’t hit those totals against tough opposing defenses in this matchup, but there’s a clear path for this game to be played in the high 150s, if not even higher. The model projects 156 combined points as the over hits more than 50% of the time. 

The model also says one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Illinois vs. UConn, and which side of the spread hits over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to back, all from the advanced model was profitable on top-ranked college basketball picks last season, and find out.