Illinois vs Washington Prediction College Basketball Picks 1/5/25

The Illinois Fighting Illini are visiting the Washington Huskies on Sunday, January 5th at the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s an Illinois Fighting Illini vs Washington Huskies Prediction. We will examine:

The Washington Huskies’ recent form and player performance

The Illinois Fighting Illini’s recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Washington Huskies

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Illinois Fighting Illini

Recent betting trends in games played between Illinois Fighting Illini and Washington Huskies

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Illinois Fighting Illini vs Washington Huskies game

Washington Huskies Preview

The Washington Huskies have a 10-4 record this season and are sitting in 15th place in the Big 10. Washington is coming off a 75-69 win over Maryland. The Huskies are 7-6 against the spread, and 6-7 in over/under, while having an 8-2 home record. 

Offensively, Washington is averaging 74.2 points per game, which is 219th in the nation. Defensively, they allow 68.6 points per game (112th). The Huskies shoot 45% from the field (191st) and 32.5% from beyond the arc (251st). The Huskies shoot 64.5% from the free-throw line (337th) and are grabbing 35.5 rebounds per game (226th).

Great Osobor leads Washington in scoring with an average of 14.6 points and a team-high 9.1 rebounds, while Tyler Harris adds 12.6 points and 5.5 rebounds.

Illinois Fighting Illini Preview

The Illinois Fighting Illini have a 10-3 record this season and are sitting on the 5th place in the Big 10. Illinois is coming off a 109-77 win in Oregon. The Fighting Illini are 7-5-1 against the spread, and 7-6in over/under while having a 1-1 road record.

Offensively, Illinois is averaging 88.2 points per game, which ranks 6th in the nation. Defensively, they allow 66.5 points per game (70th). The Fighting Illini shoot 46% from the field (142nd) and 34.9% from beyond the arc (131st). The Fighting Illini shoot 75.2% from the free-throw line (81st) and are grabbing 45.2 rebounds per game, which is the second-best in the nation.

Kasparas Jakucionis leads Illinois in scoring with an average of 16.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and a team-high 5.4 assists, while Tomislav Ivisic adds 14.2 points and a team-high 9.2 rebounds. Illinois will meet Penn State after this game.

Why the Washington Huskies will win

• Washington has won eight of its last 10 games at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
• Illinois has lost eight of its last nine Sunday day road games against the Big Ten Conference.

Why the Illinois Fighting Illini will win

• Washington has lost each of its last 15 day games against AP-ranked opponents.
• Illinois has won each of its last eight day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Illinois has won the first half in each of its last 11 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Illinois Fighting Illini vs Washington Huskies Prediction

In this Illinois Fighting Illini vs Washington Huskies Prediction, Illinois is coming as -8 road favorites. Illinois is better both offensively, scoring 14 points more than Washington, and defensively, allowing 2.1 points less. The Fighting Illini are winning by an average of 21.7 points this season, while the Huskies are winning by an average of 5.6 points. Both teams are coming off high-scoring games lately, as they are 8-1 to the over in their last 9 games combined, as Illinois boasts the 6th-best offense in the whole nation. I expect another high-scoring affair in this game, so take the over.