Illinois vs Oregon prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball
01/02/2025 09:05 AM
It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with an Illinois-Oregon prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Illinois-Oregon.
What a delicious treat we have here on the first Thursday night of 2025. It’s a high-end Big Ten basketball game in a new-look conference. Oregon is hosting a Thursday night conference game, just as it always did in the Pac-12 Conference, but now Illinois comes to Eugene in a game with an entirely new flavor.
Oregon is in the hunt for a top-two NCAA Tournament seed. That’s what happens when a team scores a huge victory over Alabama — a leading Final Four contender — and then backs it up with a quality win over San Diego State and avoids stumbles against inferior opponents. Coach Dana Altman was able to save Oregon’s season last March, winning the Pac-12 Tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament. Oregon needed the automatic bid to get in; it would not have made the field of 68 as an at-large selection. The Ducks got into March Madness, won a game, and nearly took down Creighton in an overtime second-round game. Oregon had struggled the past few seasons and was on the verge of another catastrophic failure, but the late-season turnaround revived UO basketball and enabled everyone inside the program to relax and regain confidence. Oregon looks like Oregon again — finally — this season. Altman has set the bar high in Eugene, getting a No. 1 seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament and then making the 2017 Final Four. This is what Oregon basketball is supposed to look like. The Ducks are a frontline Big Ten championship contender.
Illinois could become one of Oregon’s foremost competitors in the race for a conference title, which is what makes this game so compelling and important. The Fighting Illini have shown they can compete with the nation’s best teams. They took No. 1 Tennessee to the wire before falling just short in a game which was close the whole way. Illinois has wins over Missouri, Wisconsin and Arkansas and no bad losses. This is clearly an NCAA Tournament team. The question is how much coach Brad Underwood can get out of the talent on his roster. Illinois has skill and shooting in its backcourt. The frontcourt needs to be able to stand tall in the rigorous and rugged Big Ten. Oregon has some tall trees in its frontcourt, so this game figures to test Illinois and probe the Illini’s limitations.
Here are the Illinois-Oregon College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Illinois-Oregon Odds
Illinois: +4.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +158
Oregon: -4.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -192
Over: 156.5 (-110)
Under: 156.5 (-110)
How to Watch Illinois vs Oregon
Time: 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
TV: FS1
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why Illinois Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Illini are getting 4.5 points. They have played toe-to-toe with Tennessee. They hammered John Calipari and Arkansas. They have high-end talent and are legitimately good. As long as they keep the game close, they can cover without winning outright.
Why Oregon Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Ducks are at home against an Illinois team which will be traveling far from home for a late-night road game. Oregon has the frontcourt size with Nate Bittle to bother Illinois in the paint and near the rim. The Ducks have beaten Alabama and San Diego State, so Illinois will not be a problem for them.
Final Illinois-Oregon Prediction & Pick
Our lean is to Oregon, but Illinois is good. This game begs for a live play, not a pregame bet.
Final Illinois-Oregon Prediction & Pick: Oregon -4.5
The post Illinois vs Oregon prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball appeared first on ClutchPoints.
