Ohio State vs Illinois Prediction and College Basketball Betting Picks

In a Big Ten college basketball matchup today, the Ohio State Buckeyes are taking on the Illinois Fighting Illini at the State Farm Center. Let’s take a look at the top college basketball betting odds, picks, betting trends and KenPom Rankings, then give our Ohio State vs Illinois prediction for the game today. 

Ohio State vs Illinois Game Info

No. 22 Ohio State Buckeyes (17-7, 10-5 Big Ten) vs. No. 15 Illinois Fighting Illini (19-7, 12-4 Big Ten)
Date: Thursday, February 24, 2022
Time: 9 PM EST
Venue: State Farm Center — Champaign, IL
Coverage: FS1

Ohio State vs Illinois College Basketball Betting Picks and Odds

All college basketball betting odds for Ohio State vs Illinois can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.

Moneyline: OSU: (+210) | ILL: (-250)
Point Spread: OSU: +6 (-110) | ILL: -6 (-110)
Total: 140.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Ohio State vs Illinois College Basketball Betting Preview

Consistency has been somewhat of a problem for Ohio State over the past few weeks. While they did most recently take care of Indiana, 80-69, they did need overtime. Before that, they lost to Iowa at home by 13 points. The Buckeyes have one of the best players in the nation in E.J. Liddell, but he has struggled recently by his standards. Liddell has averaged just over 15 points over the last three games. While that’s still solid production, the problem is that Ohio State often struggles to get other players going on offense. Against a top-tier opponent like Illinois, anything other than a great game from Liddell will almost certainly end in a loss for Ohio State.

For a brief stretch, it looked like Illinois had reclaimed its dominant form from last season. Over the last four games, however, they barely beat Northwestern and were trounced by Purdue and Rutgers. While both Purdue and Rutgers have been solid as of late, it was the way they lost that was concerning. Even in their most recent five-point road win over Michigan State, they held a 16-point lead with just over eight minutes left before giving up an 18-5 run over the next five minutes. Can the Fighting Illini finally put together another complete performance, or will they struggle to find a rhythm again?

KenPom Rankings

KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com

Ohio State vs Illinois College Basketball Betting Trends

• Ohio State is 7-2 against the spread (ATS) in their last nine games.
• The OVER is 4-1 in Ohio State’s last five games.
• Ohio State is 4-2 ATS in their last six games against Illinois.
• Illinois is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games.
• The OVER is 4-2 in Illinois’ last six games against Ohio State.

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Ohio State vs Illinois Prediction | College Basketball Betting Picks

Illinois holds a home record of 12-2 this season. Those two losses came against now #2 Arizona by four and #4 Purdue by eight. Simply put, Illinois is one heck of a tough out at the State Farm Center. Illinois center Kofi Cockburn is averaging over 21 points and 11 rebounds per game this season. Cockburn is a seven-footer and weighs 285 pounds. Ohio State’s biggest guy is a bench player who still weighs 30 pounds less.

Just like he did against Wisconsin, Kofi Cockburn should be able to do whatever he wants in this game. He’s an experienced player with enough court vision to find the open man should the Buckeyes try to double him in the post. As long as everyone else can simply carry their weight, Illinois should be more than able to beat the struggling Buckeyes and cover the spread.

Our college basketball betting Ohio State vs Illinois prediction tonight will be Illinois COVERS at BetUS. 

For what it’s worth, the ESPN Matchup Predictor gives Illinois a 72.8% chance to win.

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