In a Big Ten college basketball matchup today, the Penn State Nittany Lions will take on Illinois at the State Farm Center in Champaign, IL. Let’s take a look at the top college basketball betting odds, picks, betting trends and KenPom Rankings, then give our Penn State vs Illinois prediction for the game today.
Penn State vs Illinois Game Info
Penn State (12-14, 7-11 Big Ten) vs. Illinois (20-8, 13-15 Big Ten)
Date: Thursday, March 3rd, 2022
Time: 7 PM ET
Venue: State Farm Center – Champaign, IL
Coverage: FS1
Penn State vs Illinois College Basketball Betting Picks and Odds
All college basketball betting odds can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: PSU: (+575) ILL: (-775)
Point Spread: PSU: +12.5 (-110) | ILL: -12.5 (-110)
Total: 132.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
KenPom Rankings
KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com
| Team | Rk | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT |
| Penn State | 97 | 105.8 (136) | 97.9 (66th) | 62.5 (353rd) |
| Illinois | 16 | 115.5 (17th) | 95.2 (33rd) | 67.9 (151st) |
Penn State vs Illinois College Basketball Betting Trends
- Penn State is 5-6 against the spread (ATS) on the road this season
- Illinois is 11-3 straight up at home, but just 7-7 ATS
- In games where they are favored by 12.5 points or more this season, Illinois is 3-3 ATS.
- The OVER is 6-4 in Illinois’ last 10 games
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Penn State vs Illinois Prediction | College Basketball Betting Picks
The Fighting Illini have been sub-par at covering the spread all season, going 13-15 ATS. While they are fresh off of a 93-85 win against Michigan on the road, this might be a trap spot. The Illini were up-and-down all February. They lost to Purdue on the 8th, beat Northwestern on the 13th, lost to Rutgers on the 16th, beat Michigan State on the 19th, lost to Ohio State on the 24th, then beat Michigan on the 27th.
While that win at Michigan was certainly impressive, Illinois shot 10-17 from three (58.8%) while Michigan shot just 33% from beyond the arc. They did not dominate Michigan in any other facet of the game, basically mirroring each other in rebounds and assists. Michigan also might have been looking ahead to their game against Michigan State, which happened Tuesday and saw Michigan win by 17 points.
We might be catching Illinois in a look-ahead spot of their own tonight, as they are set to meet 24th-ranked Iowa on Sunday. Penn State played competitive basketball all February, with close losses to Wisconsin, Michigan and Maryland. They also beat Michigan State on February 15th.
They did just get embarrassed by the worst team in the Big Ten, losing to Nebraska by 23 at home. However, Penn State has a golden opportunity to bounce back and play a good game against the 20th ranked team in the nation tonight. Back the Nittany Lions to cover the 12.5 spread as they put together and inspired effort in a hostile environment.
Our college basketball betting Penn State vs Illinois prediction tonight will be Penn State covering the spread at BetUS.
For what it’s worth, the ESPN Matchup Predictor gives Penn State a 7.5% chance to win.
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