Illinois vs Northwestern Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/6/24

The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Northwestern Wildcats meet Friday in college basketball action from Welsh-Ryan Arena. Here’s an Illinois vs Northwestern prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Illinois vs Northwestern pick. We will examine:

The Illinois Fighting Illini’s recent form and player performance

The Northwestern Wildcats’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Illinois Fighting Illini

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Northwestern Wildcats

Recent betting trends in games played between Illinois and Northwestern

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Illinois vs Northwestern game

Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Preview

The Illini have looked pretty good so far, with one lone blemish versus Alabama on November 20. Outside of that, it’s been wins over Eastern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville, Oakland, MD Eastern Shore, Little Rock, and Arkansas.

In the Arkansas game on Thanksgiving, Illinois jumped out to a 49-34 edge by halftime. The Illini stayed close in the second and took a 90-77 win in the end. Kasparas Jakucionis finished with 23 points to lead the way, and Tomislav Ivisic doubled on 21 points and 10 boards. 

Northwestern Wildcats Betting Preview

Over on the Wildcats’ side, they’ve got three losses on the card versus Dayton, Butler, and Iowa. The wins otherwise have been versus Lehigh, UIC, Eastern Illinois, Montana State, Pepperdine, and UNLV.

Matched up against Iowa on Tuesday, Northwestern was down 45-34 at halftime. The Wildcats fought back from there but ended up falling on a last-second 3-pointer 80-79. Brooks Barnhizer was tops in scoring with 21 points and 10 boards for a double-double.

Why the Northwestern Wildcats will win

• Northwestern has won 18 of its last 19 night games at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
• Illinois has lost the first half in each of its last three night games at Welsh-Ryan Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Illinois Fighting Illini will win

• Illinois has won each of its last eight night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Northwestern has lost four of its last five games against the Big Ten Conference.
• Northwestern has lost the first half in five of its last six night games against AP-ranked opponents.

Illinois vs Northwestern Prediction

If the line were a little thicker, I’d take a stab at Northwestern here. As it sits now I’ve got to stay with the Illini, though. The Wildcats recovered from a slow start in a tricky road matchup versus Iowa in their last outing but fell just short of the W in the end. Northwestern ended up shooting a nice 48.3 percent from the field with a 36-26 rebounding edge but did give up a healthy 54.5 percent shooting on the other side. Still, the Wildcats have been quite competitive this year. Each of their three losses has come by five points or fewer. This will be Northwestern’s toughest matchup so far, however.

As for Illinois, they’re coming off a nice win over a very good Arkansas team last week. The Illini shot a smooth 52.6 percent from the field with 34 rebounds and 16 team assists. The 15-of-22 (68.2 percent) from the line isn’t going to cut it come tournament time, though. Illinois has scored 87 or more points in all but one game this year (66 versus Oakland), so Northwestern is going to need a big home push in order to keep a cover pace. I don’t think the Wildcats will quite get there. 

Andrew Jett's Pick: Illinois Fighting Illini -2.5