Nebraska vs Illinois Prediction 2/1/26 College Basketball Picks Today

The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Nebraska Cornhuskers meet Sunday in college basketball action from Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln. Here’s a Nebraska vs Illinois prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Nebraska vs Illinois pick.

Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Preview

The Illini got off to an 8-3 start over their first 11 games this year. The only losses in that stretch were versus Alabama, UConn and Nebraska. After that came a string of wins over Missouri, Southern, Penn State, Rutgers, Iowa, Northwestern, Minnesota, Maryland and Purdue in the next nine outings. That would give the Illini a 17-3 run across their first 20 games of the season.

On Thursday versus Washington, Illinois was in control at the break, heading into the locker room on a 33-26 advantage. The Illini hit a 42-40 run the rest of the way during a 75-66 victory at home. Leading the way in the win was Keaton Wagler with 22 points, eight assists and five rebounds. David Mirkovic added 19 points with six rebounds and Ben Humrichous added 14 points with three rebounds in 27 minutes of work.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Betting Preview

Over on the Nebraska side, they had a perfect run across their first 20 games. In that time the Cornhuskers dispatched West Georgia, FIU, MD Eastern Shore, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas State, Winthrop, USC Upstate, Creighton, Wisconsin, Illinois, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, Northwestern, Washington and Minnesota. After a loss to Michigan the Cornhuskers sit at 20-1 overall this year.

Matched up against Michigan on Tuesday the Cornhuskers were looking okay on a 50-48 advantage by the time the second half rolled around. Nebraska was outscored 27-22 the rest of the way however, leading to a tough loss on the road in the end 75-72. Both Pryce Sandfort (three assists; four rebounds) and Jamarques Lawrence (four assists; three rebounds) turned in a team-high 20 points apiece in the losing effort for the Cornhuskers.

Why the Nebraska Cornhuskers will win

• Nebraska has won each of its last 12 games at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
• Illinois has lost eight of its last 10 games against Top 5 AP-ranked opponents.
• Illinois has lost the first half in each of its last five games against Top 5 AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Illinois Fighting Illini will win

• Illinois has won each of its last 10 games.
• Nebraska has lost five of its last six day games against AP-ranked opponents at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
• Illinois has won the first half in each of its last five February games as a top-15 AP-ranked team.

Nebraska vs Illinois Prediction

I’ll stick with Nebraska but you could call this one either way; it’ll be a great game. The Cornhuskers pushed a great Michigan team to the brink in a road matchup this week but fell just short. Nebraska ended up shooting 46 percent from the field in that one with 34.4 percent from outside (11-of-32). The Cornhuskers only got to the line four times though (making three) and had a 32-21 rebounding deficit in the defeat. Still, Nebraska is playing great this year and they’ve scored 72 or more points in seven straight outings.

These teams last met up back on December 13 in a dramatic 83-80 road win for the Cornhuskers. In that one Nebraska shot a nice 51.6 percent from the field with just six turnovers, but got outmuscled on the boards 30-26 and gave up 48.3 percent shooting on defense. The Cornhuskers only got to the line eight times (making seven for 87.5 percent) to Illinois’ 20 attempts (making 14 for 70 percent). Things like that could make a big difference in this home rematch. Regardless, this should be a really fun, competitive game to watch.