The Illinois Fighting Illini and Xavier Musketeers face off in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament in what will be an entertaining game in a raucous arena packed with rabid fans from both sides. Who will escape a first-round exit in the Illinois vs Xavier matchup?
Below, we will preview this March Madness college basketball game, giving the Illinois vs Xavier overview, trends and our expert pick! Which school will win and keep their hopes of winning the championship trophy alive?
CLICK HERE for new ways to fill out your March Madness bracket!
Illinois vs Xavier Prediction and March Madness Expert Picks
2025 NCAA Tournament
No. 6 Illinois Fighting Illini (21-12) vs. No. 11 Xavier Musketeers (22-11)
Date: Friday, March 21, 2025
Time: 9:45 PM EST
Venue: Fiserv Forum — Milwaukee, WI
Coverage: CBS
Get your printable March Madness bracket
Illinois vs Xavier March Madness Odds
All college basketball betting odds for Illinois vs Xavier can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: ILL: (-160) | XAV: (+135)
Point Spread: ILL: -3.5 (-105) | XAV: +3.5 (-115)
Total: 160.5 — Over: (-105) | Under: (-112)
KenPom Rankings | Bracketology
KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com
| Team | Rk | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT |
| Illinois | 19 | 121.7 (15) | 98.1 (42) | 71.5 (18) |
| Xavier | 40 | 116.3 (41) | 98.6 (45) | 69.2 (76) |
Illinois vs Xavier College Basketball Trends
- Illinois is 4-1 in its last five games.
- Xavier is 4-1 in its last five games.
- Illinois is 9-4 in non-conference play this season.
- Xavier is 9-4 in non-conference play this season.
- Illinois has made the Sweet 16 just once in the last nine appearances since they finished as runners-up in 2005.
- Xavier has made the Sweet 16 in two of their last three appearances.
Illinois vs Xavier Prediction | March Madness Expert Picks
Both teams had completely different paths to get to where they are now. Xavier blew a lead to Marquette in the Big East Tournament and narrowly made it into the dance. Then, they overcame multiple double-digit Texas leads in their First Four game to earn their spot in this matchup.
Illinois, on the other hand, was ran out of the building in their Big Ten Tournament game with Maryland where they lost, 88-65. With that being said, head coach Brad Underwood has mentioned the team is finally getting healthy again and has been well-rested for more than a few days now.
Illinois has many good wins and most of their bad losses came to good teams without a full squad. They love to shoot the ball from deep but don’t make it very often, shooting just over 31% from downtown. Xavier, on the other hand, shoots it incredibly well from deep (over 38%). While that would usually lead to us picking Xavier, Illinois finally has a full squad and is well-rested. Xavier is coming off of a physically and emotionally draining win around 48 hours prior to tip-off. Illinois should get out to a decent lead early and be able to withstand some runs from a tired Xavier team.
For our Illinois vs Xavier prediction, we are picking the Illinois Fighting Illini to win and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok for more great FlurrySports content.
