Washington vs Illinois Prediction 1-5-25 College Basketball Picks

The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Washington Huskies meet Sunday in college basketball action from Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Here’s a Washington vs Illinois prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Washington vs Illinois pick.

Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Preview:

The Illini got off to a 3-0 start this year, rolling past Eastern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville, and Oakland before taking their first loss to Alabama on November 20. Illinois hit another three-game win streak after that over Maryland-Eastern Shore, Little Rock, and Arkansas, but then went 1-2 over the next trio with a lone win over Wisconsin in between losses to Northwestern and Tennessee. Since then Illinois has taken yet another three-game win streak, dispatching Missouri, Chicago State, and Oregon in that trio for a 10-3 overall record this year.

In the Oregon matchup back on Thursday, the Illini came out of halftime looking up at a 45-38 advantage on the scoreboard. Illinois kept the pressure on in the second half, bombing in 64 more points in a decisive win 109-77. Leading the team in the victory with a double-double was Tre White with 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. Ben Humrichous added 18 points with two boards and one assist, and Kasparas Jakucionis had 16 points with six rebounds and six assists. Topping the bench players was Jake Davis with 12 points and three boards in 11 minutes. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn added 11 points and two boards as well.

Washington Huskies Betting Preview

Over on the Washington side, they rolled to a 6-1 overall record this year. The lone loss in that time was versus Nevada. Otherwise, it was victories over UC Davis, Seattle Pacific, UMass Lowell, Alcorn State, Colorado State, and Santa Clara at that time. Consecutive losses came versus UCLA and USC after that, then consecutive wins over Eastern Washington and Washington State. Since their latest loss to Seattle U back on December 23, the Huskies have taken out NJIT and Maryland in consecutive games for a 10-4 record overall this season.

In Thursday’s matchup with Maryland, the Huskies were in trouble with a 33-30 deficit in the locker room. Washington woke up after that, however, surging on a 45-36 run on the way to a comeback victory 75-69 in the end. Topping the team with 20 points and 14 rebounds alongside four assists and three steals for a nice double-double was Great Osobor. Zoom Diallo added 18 points with five boards, six assists, and two steals off the bench, while DJ Davis added 17 points in 24 minutes of work. The next-highest starter was Wilhelm Breidenbach with five points, one rebound, and one steal, though.

Why the Washington Huskies will win

• Washington has won eight of its last 10 games at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
• Illinois has lost eight of its last nine Sunday day road games against the Big Ten Conference.

Why the Illinois Fighting Illini will win

• Washington has lost each of its last 15 day games against AP-ranked opponents.
• Illinois has won each of its last eight day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Illinois has won the first half in each of its last 11 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Washington vs Illinois Prediction

I’ll lean toward Illinois. The Illini played with confidence and conviction in their blowout win over Oregon during their last appearance, powering out an impressive win. Illinois shot a nice 57.5 percent from the field in that one alongside a scorching 55.2 percent from the field and a 43-31 rebounding advantage. The Ducks didn’t play terribly on offense themselves, but simply couldn’t keep up with the surge. During this three-game win streak, Illinois is scoring great. They’ve got 80 or more in all three games, and a combined 226 points in the last two outings alone. It’s unfair to think Illinois will keep up that torrid pace in this one, but another 80-point outing doesn’t seem too far-fetched to believe.

As for Washington, they had a pretty muted performance from all of their starters outside of Osobor in their latest comeback win. The Huskies got just 11 combined points from the other four players. The good news is that Washington shot 45.6 percent from the field and looked good on the boards (33) in a win. That makes 70 or more points in five straight (a 4-1 run), so we should have a pretty good total here if both teams continue their current trajectories. In the end, however, I like Illinois to stay hot and control this one for a nice cover.