UCLA vs Illinois Prediction 2/11/25 College Basketball Picks

The UCLA Bruins and the Illinois Fighting Illini meet Tuesday in college basketball action from State Farm Center. Here’s a UCLA vs Illinois prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UCLA vs Illinois pick. We will examine: 

The UCLA Bruins’ recent form and player performance

The Illinois Fighting Illini’s recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the UCLA Bruins

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Illinois Fighting Illini

Recent betting trends in games played between UCLA and Illinois

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

UCLA Bruins Betting Preview

The Bruins have one rough run in the books back in December/January but otherwise, they’ve played quite well. UCLA opened on a 10-1 run with wins over Rider, Boston U, Lehigh, Idaho State, Cal State Fullerton, Southern Utah, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Prairie View in that time. The Bruins hit a 1-5 run in their next six with a lone win over Gonzaga amid losses to North Carolina, Nebraska, Michigan, Maryland, and Rutgers. Since then it’s been all wins, though. The Bruins have taken out Iowa, Wisconsin, Washington, USC, Oregon, Michigan State, and Penn State in their last seven outings, giving the team an 18-6 overall run through the first 24 games of the 2024-25 season. 

In the Penn State matchup over the weekend, the Bruins hit a comfortable 44-31 edge in the first half. UCLA kept it up in the second with a 34-23 run and took the blowout victory 78-54 in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Kobe Johnson with 15 points and 13 rebounds alongside six assists and four steals for a double-double. Sebastian Mack came off the bench for 14 points, and Skyy Clark added 14 points with three boards and three assists. 

Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Preview

Over on the Illinois side, they were looking pretty good early last month, but they’ve since faltered amid some tough Big Ten matchups. The Illini went 12-3 in their first 15 outings, beating Eastern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville, Oakland, Maryland Eastern Shore, Little Rock, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Chicago State, Oregon, Washington, and Penn State during that time. Since then it’s been a 4-5 stretch for the Illini. The wins have come over Indiana, Northwestern, Ohio State and Minnesota. The losses otherwise were versus USC, Michigan State, Maryland, Nebraska, and Rutgers. That gives Illinois a 16-8 overall run so far this year. 

Matched up against Minnesota in their Saturday outing, the Illini went into the second half with an 11-point edge. Illinois maintained form the rest of the way, hitting a 49-39 run on the way to a 95-74 victory. Leading the team in scoring was Will Riley, who came off the bench for 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Kasparas Jakucionis added 24 points with four rebounds and four assists. Tomislav Ivisic doubled up on 18 points and 11 rebounds with two assists and four turnovers in 33 minutes of work as well. 

Why the Illinois Fighting Illini will win

• Illinois has won 28 of its last 31 games at State Farm Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the UCLA Bruins will win

• UCLA has won each of its last seven games.
• Illinois has lost each of its last three night games against the Big Ten Conference.
• Illinois has lost the first half in each of its last three night games against the Big Ten Conference.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Illinois’ last nine games has produced a total of 154+ points.
• Six of UCLA’s last seven road games against the Big Ten Conference have produced a total of 147 or fewer points.

UCLA vs Illinois Prediction 

I’ll take a stab at UCLA here. This should be a pretty great matchup no matter the outcome, though. The Bruins are looking good these days and coming off a dominant win over a decent Penn State team. UCLA hit 47 percent from the field with 35 rebounds and just four turnovers in that one. The 24 points off 18 Nittany Lions turnovers helped immensely as well, but the Bruins won’t be able to rely on mistakes so much during this road matchup. 

As for Illinois, they’re coming off a desperately needed performance versus Minnesota. The Illini haven’t been the most reliable team lately, but overall they’re still scoring well even when they lose. UCLA is going to have to notch a nice offensive performance in this one in order to power it out on the road, but I think the Bruins are capable. Should be a fun one.