Iowa vs Illinois Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for February 4 (Fighting Illini Shock Hawkeyes in Big Ten Battle)

Iowa vs Illinois Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
• Iowa (14-8, 6-5 Big Ten) vs. Illinois (16-6, 7-4 Big Ten)
• Date: Saturday, February 4, 2023
• Time: 2:30 PM ET
• Venue: Carver-Hawkeye Arena -- Iowa City, Iowa

Saturday, Feb. 4's NCAA college basketball schedule features the Iowa Hawkeyes going one-on-one with the Illinois Fighting Illini in a Big Ten battle slated for 2:30 p.m. ET.

Iowa is seeking its third win in a row after a solid 86-70 victory over Northwestern, highlighted by Filip Rebraca and Payton Sandfort finishing with 20 points apiece. Meanwhile, Illinois is already on a three-game winning streak, having last picked up a 72-56 win against Nebraska.

Can Iowa win to improve its Big Ten ranking? Or will Illinois shock its rival on the road?

Iowa vs Illinois Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: IOWA: (-138) | ILL: (+115)
• Spread: IOWA: -2.5 (-110) | ILL: +2.5 (-110)
• Total: 153.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Iowa enters this contest as the slim home favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 2:30 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 153.5 points with both sides being favored at -110 odds.

Iowa vs Illinois Betting Trends

• Iowa has 14 wins in 22 games against the spread this season.
• The Hawkeyes' ATS record as 2.5-point favorites or more is 10-5.
• Out of 22 Iowa's games so far this year, 12 have hit the over.
• Illinois has 14 wins in 22 games against the spread this season.
• The Fighting Illini are yet to lose ATS (2-0) as a 2.5-point underdog or more this year.
• Illinois has played 22 games this season, and nine of them have gone over the total.

Iowa Rank	Iowa AVG		Illinois AVG	Illinois Rank
18th	81.5	Points Scored	75.0	103rd
284th	73.3	Points Allowed	63.3	35th
43rd	34.9	Rebounds	36.2	20th
52nd	10.3	Off. Rebounds	10.3	52nd
101st	8.1	3pt Made	8.1	101st
19th	16.5	Assists	13.5	157th
27th	10.3	Turnovers	13.0	268th

Iowa vs Illinois Prediction & Pick

This is an example of when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. On one hand, Iowa's offense is among the best in the nation, averaging 81.5 PPG (No. 11). On the other Illinois only surrenders 63.3 PPG (No. 29) and has held opponents to an average of 55.7 points over the last three games.

Keeping that in mind, I'm siding with the road team today. Illinois has won each of its last five games against Iowa, which includes outscoring the Hawkeyes by an average of 7.5 points in its last two trips to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa has also shown that it can be beaten by a strong defensive team, proven by its 63-61 loss to Michigan State just over a week ago.

This game will be quite the competitive affair, but Illinois' defense gives the Fighting Illini a clear edge.

Final Score Prediction: Illinois: 74 | Iowa: 72

Iowa vs Illinois Best Bet

A matchup between Iowa and Illinois typically means fewer points than projected. The Big Ten rivals have hit the under in five of their last seven meetings, but they've also done so in eight of the last 12 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The under is also 4-1 in Illinois' last five games and 8-4 in Iowa's last 12 on a Saturday.

With Illinois' defense also being as strong as it is, it's clear that siding with the total going under 153.5 points is the correct choice.

Bet: Under 153.5 Points (-110)

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.