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Illinois vs Ohio State Prediction 2/2/25 College Basketball Picks Today

Ohio State (13-8) vs. Illinois (14-7)
February 2, 2025 1:00 pm EDT
The Line: Illinois -6.5; Over/Under: 156
(Get latest betting odds)

The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Illinois Fighting Illini meet Sunday in college basketball action from the State Farm Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s an Illinois vs Ohio State Prediction.

Ohio State Recap

The Ohio State Buckeyes come into this game looking to add on to their 83-64 win over Penn State last time out to improve to 13-8 on the year. After this game, Ohio State will head home for a game against Maryland.



Buckeyes Win Third Straight

Bruce Thornton leads the Buckeyes in scoring with 17 PPG and in assists with 4.1 APG while John Mobley Jr. has 12.6 PPG. Micah Parrish has 11.6 PPG with 4.6 RPG while Devin Royal has 13.9 PPG with a team-high 7.4 RPG to lead Ohio State on the glass and to finish off the group of double-digit scorers for Ohio State up to this point in the year. Meechie Johnson Jr.’s added 9.1 PPG with 2.5 RPG and 2.7 APG and Aaron Bradshaw’s chipped in 7.1 PPG and 2.9 RPG this season. As a team, Ohio State is averaging 80 PPG on 48.2% shooting from the field, 37.3% from three, and 73.4% from the foul line this season.

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes will win

  • Ohio State has won each of its last seven day games against the Big Ten Conference.
  • Illinois has lost three of its last four games.

Illinois Recap

The Illinois Fighting Illini come into this game looking to bounce back from an 80-74 loss to Nebraska last time out to sit at 14-7 on the year. After this game, Illinois will head on the road to take on Rutgers.

Fighting Illini Lose 3 Of Last 4

Kasparas Jakucionis leads the Illini in scoring and assists with 16 PPG and 5.4 APG along with 5.8 RPG while Tomislav Ivisic has 13 PPG with a team-high 8.5 RPG to lead the Illini in rebounding up to this point in the year, but looks to still be missing time because of mono. Will Riley has 10.4 PPG with 3.6 RPG and Kylan Boswell has 12 PPG with 5.4 RPG and 3.7 APG. Tre White also has 10.2 PPG with 5 RPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for Illinois so far this season and Ben Humrichous has 8.5 PPG as well on the year. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn also has 8 PPG as well this season. As a team, Illinois is averaging 85.2 PPG on 44.1% shooting from the field, 31.4% from three, and 75.3% from the foul line this season.

Why the Illinois Fighting Illini will win

  • Illinois has won 10 of its last 11 day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
  • Ohio State has lost six of its last eight day games against AP-ranked opponents.

Total Points Facts

  • Each of Ohio State’s last 11 games against AP-ranked opponents has produced a total of 152 or fewer points.
  • Eight of Illinois’ last nine day games against the Big Ten Conference have produced a total of 157+ points.

Illinois vs Ohio State Prediction

I’m on Ohio State and the points here. I have to say I’m pretty impressed with what Ohio State’s been bringing to the table as of late from a cover perspective, and home court in the Big Ten has not been as strong of an angle in recent weeks. I just feel like this is a 4-point game, something in the ballpark of 79-75 so I’ll take my chances on Ohio State and the points in this one while sprinkling a little bit on Ohio State ML.

Chris Ruffolo's Free Pick: Ohio State +6.5

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Chris Ruffolo

Chris joined the Sports Chat Place team in August 2016 and has a proven system that combines multiple analytical and situational statistics and trends to give out thousands of winning picks over the last three years with winning records across all of the top leagues, Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg

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