Illinois vs Rutgers Prediction 1/8/26 College Basketball Picks Today

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini meet Thursday in college basketball action from State Farm Center in Champaign. Here’s an Illinois vs Rutgers prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Illinois vs Rutgers pick.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights Betting Preview

Rutgers managed to take out Rider, Maine, Lehigh and American in their first four games of the year. The Knights would fall to Central Connecticut, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Purdue, Michigan and Seton Hall over the next seven outings, however. A 3-1 run came over the next four games with wins over Penn, Delaware State and Oregon. That gives Rutgers an 8-7 overall run in their first 15 games of the year.

In the Oregon Game on Monday, the Scarlet Knights faced an eight-point deficit heading into the second half. Rutgers came back and forced overtime, eventually taking a nice win 88-85 in the end. Tariq Francis led the wagon 30 points with four rebounds and four assists while Jamichael Davis had 13 points with five baords. Darren Buchanan and Lino Mark each had 13 points as well.

Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Preview

Over on the Illinois side, they managed to go 6-1 in their first seven games. The Illini took out Jackson State, Florida Gulf Coast, Texas Tech, Colgate, Long Island U and UT Rio Grande Valley in that time before a loss to UConn. The next four were a 3-1 run with a loss to Nebraska among wins over Tennessee, Ohio State and Missouri. Illinois has since beaten Southern and Penn State for an 11-3 run overall this year.

In the Saturday game versus Penn State, the Illini went into the break with a 40-26 lead. Illinois was outscored 39-33 from there but eventually powered out the victory 73-65. Kylan Boswell led the way with 18 points and four rebounds while Keaton Wagler had 16 points, three boards and three assists. David Mirkovic had 13 points with 10 rebounds for a double-double in the victory.

Why the Illinois Fighting Illini will win

• Illinois has won each of its last 14 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Rutgers has lost each of its last six games against AP-ranked opponents.
• Illinois has won the first half in each of its last 14 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will win

• Rutgers has won three of its last four games.
• Rutgers has won the first half in three of its last four road night games against Conference opponents.

Illinois vs Rutgers Prediction

I’ll try Rutgers in this one. The Knights pulled off a nice comeback win over Oregon in their last outing, eventually shooting 43.3 percent from the field with 88.2 percent (30-of-34) from the line. Rutgers had just seven turnovers but also got blitzed on the boards 41-30 and in the paint 32-26 during the win. The good news is that the Knights have won three of their last four games, scoring 70 or more points in three of those.

As for Illinois, they didn’t have a heap of trouble versus Penn State in a road win their last time out, despite shooting just 39.3 percent from the field and 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from outside. The Illini earned it back at the line (23-of-28 for 82.1 percent) and on the boards (41-29). That makes three straight wins for Illinois with 90 or more points in two of those. Rutgers is going to have to hit the scoreboard hard in this one.