Illinois vs Minnesota Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for February 20 (Fighting Illini Breeze By Lowly Golden Gophers)

Illinois vs Minnesota Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
• Illinois (17-9, 8-7 Big Ten) vs. Minnesota (7-17, 1-13 Big Ten)
• Date: Monday, February 20, 2023
• Time: 9:00 PM ET
• Venue: State Farm Center -- Champaign, Illinois
• Coverage: BTN

Monday, Feb. 20's NCAA college basketball schedule features the Illinois Fighting Illini taking on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a Big Ten collision at 9 p.m. ET.

A 71-68 loss to then-No. 14 Indiana over the weekend dropped Illinois' record to 1-3 in its last four games. Unfortunately, Minnesota hasn't won much either lately. The Golden Gophers are currently on a nine-game losing streak, most recently falling 76-69 to Penn State.

Can Illinois turn things around at home? Or will Minnesota finally put its losing ways to rest?

Illinois vs Minnesota Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: ILL: (-1600) | MINN: (+860)
• Spread: ILL: -14.5 (-112) | MINN: +14.5 (-108)
• Total: 135.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Illinois enters this contest as the heavy home favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 9 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 135.5 points with both sides sitting at -110 odds.

Illinois vs Minnesota Betting Trends

• Illinois is 17-9-0 against the spread this season.
• The Fighting Illini are 4-2 as 14.5-point favorites or more.
• There have been 11 Illinois' games (out of 26) that hit the over this year.
• Minnesota has beaten the spread 11 times in 24 games.
• As a 14.5-point underdog or greater, the Golden Gophers have two wins ATS (2-1).
• This season, eight of Minnesota's 24 games have hit the over.

Illinois Rank	Illinois AVG		Minnesota AVG	Minnesota Rank
103rd	74.9	Points Scored	61.2	353rd
57th	65.3	Points Allowed	69.5	170th
20th	36	Rebounds	30.8	241st
39th	10.3	Off. Rebounds	7.1	295th
138th	7.8	3pt Made	5.8	322nd
177th	13.1	Assists	14.1	106th
259th	12.8	Turnovers	12.3	212th

Illinois vs Minnesota Prediction & Pick

A horrendous offense is one of the main reasons why Minnesota has been stuck in a rut. During their nine-game skid, the Golden Gophers are only averaging 55.4 PPG while losing each contest by an average of 17.4 points. They've also lost six of their seven road games so far this season, making them even tougher to trust.

Much to the dismay of Minnesota fans, I don't see that slide ending tonight. On top of being 12-2 at State Farm Center this season, Illinois has had a lot of home success against its Big Ten rival. The Fighting Illini have won 16 of their last 19 home games against the Golden Gophers, defeating them in their last meeting in Champaign by 27 points.

Illinois is the clear-cut better team and playing this matchup at home only improves its chances of victory.

Final Score Prediction: Illinois: 79 | Minnesota: 62

Illinois vs Minnesota Best Bet

For tonight's best bet, I have my eye on Illinois covering as the 14.5-point favorite. On top of being 6-1 ATS in their last seven games, the Fighting Illini are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 Big Ten contests. Meanwhile, Minnesota is 0-5 ATS in its last five games against Illinois and 4-12-2 ATS in its last 18 games played in February.

With Illinois winning three straight home games against Minnesota by a 20.7-point average, it's easy to see how backing the home team on the spread is the right call tonight.

Bet: Illinois -14.5 (-112)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.