Nebraska Cornhuskers (16-6) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (16-5)
February 4, 2024 6:30 pm EDT
The Line: Illinois Fighting Illini -9.5; Over/Under: +156.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Illinois Fighting Illini meet in college basketball action from the State Farm Center on Sunday. Who comes out ahead in this Big Ten clash? Let’s dive in and find out with our Nebraska vs. Illinois Prediction.
Nebraska Team Preview
The Nebraska Cornhuskers come into this one looking to build on an 80-72 OT win over Wisconsin last time out. Rienk Mast leads the Cornhuskers across the board with 13.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG and 3 APG while Brice Williams has 13.3 PPG with 5.6 RPG and 2.6 APG. Keisei Tominaga has 13.1 PPG and Juwan Gary has 11.5 PPG with 5.7 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Nebraska up to this point in the year. C.J. Wilcher also has 9.7 PPG this season for Nebraska. As a team, Nebraska is averaging 77.4 PPG on 45% shooting from the field, 36.3% from three and 75.1% from the foul line this season.
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Illinois Team Preview
The Illinois Fighting Illini come into this one looking to build on back-to-back wins after an 87-75 win over Ohio State last time out. Terrence Shannon Jr. leads the Illini with 20.1 PPG and Marcus Domask has 15.5 PPG with 4.7 RPG and a team-high 3.4 APG to lead Illinois in assists while Quincy Guerrier has 11 PPG with a team-high 7.6 RPG to lead the Illini in rebounding this season. Coleman Hawkins has 11.6 PPG with 6.3 RPG to finish off the scoring in double digits for Illinois this season. As a team, Illinois is averaging 82.3 PPG on 46.3% shooting from the field, 34.4% from three and 72.6% from the foul line this season.
Nebraska vs. Illinois Prediction
I’m on Illinois here. I get the case to be made for Nebraska in a spot like this as this is still a really good Nebraska team, but once again, home court in the Big Ten is proving to be a big deal and I think the return of Terrence Shannon Jr. to this Illini lineup has done nothing but help Illinois and this is a scary Illini group to watch going forward. All in all, I think Illinois finds a way to get it done here so give me the Illini by double digits.
