The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Illinois Fighting Illini meet Wednesday in college basketball action from United Center. Here’s an Illinois vs Alabama prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Illinois vs Alabama pick.
Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Preview
The Crimson Tide only have three games in the bank so far this year, going 2-1 in that time. The first was a 91-62 blowout win over North Dakota in the opener. Alabama was led by Labaron Philon in that one with 22 points, eight assists and three rebounds. As for game two, Alabama took on St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. The Tide were up 53-44 at the break and hit 50 more points from there in a 103-96 win. Labaron Philon had 25 points with three boards and three assists this time, and Aden Holloway had 21 points with four assists.
As for game three versus Purdue back on Thursday, the Tide were in trouble with a two-point deficit at the half. Alabama limped to the finish on a 44-39 deficit and lost 87-80. Aden Holloway led the team this time with his 21 points, three assists and two rebounds. Taylor Bol Bowen chipped in 13 points, and Aiden Sherrell had 12 points with four boards.
Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Preview
Over on the Illinois side, they began their year with a pretty easy matchup versus Jackson State The Illini took a 60-27 lead at halftime, then went on a 53-28 stretch in a blowout win 113-55. Illinois’ leader was Ben Humrichous with 21 points and five boards. David Mirkovic posted a double-double on 19 points with 14 rebounds, and Keaton Wagler added 18 points with six rebounds and four assists. In game two versus Florida Gulf Coast, Illinois had a 59-27 halftime lead. The Illini finished with a 54-43 run in the second half, rolling to the win 113-70. Kylan Boswell led the way on a double-double with 31 points and 10 rebounds alongside three assists. David Mirkovic added 17 points with 11 rebounds in another double-double as well. Illinois played their toughest game of the year at that point on November 11 versus Texas Tech. After getting outscored 45-35 in the second half, the Illini held on for an 81-77 win. Andrej Stojakovic finished with 23 points, and Kylan Boswell had 22 points with three assists.
As for game four, the Illini played Colgate on Friday. Illinois was up by 11 points going into the second half and finished with a 43-35 run for an 84-65 victory. David Mirkovic went off for 27 points, three assists and a whopping 21 rebounds in the victory. Keaton Wagler added 19 points with six boards, and Kylan Boswell had 11 points with four rebounds and four assists in the winning effort for the Illini.
Alabama Crimson Tide @ Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Trends: November 19, 2025
Why the Illinois Fighting Illini will win
- Illinois has won eight of its last nine night games.
- Alabama has lost four of its last five night games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
- Alabama has lost the first half in each of its last six games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
Why the Alabama Crimson Tide will win
- Alabama has won nine of its last 10 games when playing with a rest advantage.
- Illinois has lost each of its last four night games against AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
- Illinois has lost the first half in each of its last four night games against AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Illinois’ last nine games against AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 177 or fewer points.
- Twenty-one of Alabama’s last 25 night games against non-Conference opponents have produced a total of 176 or fewer points.
Illinois vs Alabama Prediction
I’ll stay with Alabama. The Tide have another tricky matchup in store here following their loss to Purdue last week. Alabama didn’t shoot too badly in that one (42.4 percent) and had just six turnovers. That said, the Tide got outmuscled with a 48-23 deficit on the boards and a 30-22 disadvantage in the paint. Alabama has had no issues scoring so far with 80 or more points in all three games. They’ve got to get more aggressive up front, though.
As for Illinois, they rolled right past Colgate in their last game despite a tepid 37.7 percent shooting from the field. The Illini were great from the line (21-of-24) however, and had a 45-25 rebounding advantage alongside just seven turnovers. Illinois has 81 or more points in all four games this season, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a high-octane shootout here. Should be a fun one to watch regardless of what happens.