Illinois vs. Nebraska Expert Pick and Prediction – January 30, 2025

ILLINOIS VS. NEBRASKA EXPERT PICK AND PREDICTION – January 30, 2025 — It’s a testament to how deep the Big Ten is that Nebraska has dropped six in a row, sits 17th in the league and can still realistically talk about making the NCAA tournament.

Frankly, the Huskers have more to worry about with making the Big Ten tournament first, as only the top 15 teams will qualify for Indianapolis. Over the rest of the campaign, the Huskers currently have just three games left where they’re favored to win, and this is not one of them.

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However, this might be one of Nebraska’s best chances to steal one. Illinois has looked anything but impressive in its past few games, although in fairness to the Illini, they’ve had to deal with several injuries and illnesses. When healthy, Illinois is one of the strongest teams in the nation. But Illinois hasn’t been healthy in weeks, and it showed when the Illini got routed by Maryland.

The win over Northwestern helped a little, but Illinois is still not back to full strength. If Nebraska is going to steal a game, this is probably the one that it needs to get.

The Odds

Tipoff

When: Thursday, January 30 at 8 p.m.

Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Neb.

TV: FS1

Public Bets: Unavailable

Public Money: Unavailable

Illinois vs. Nebraska In-Season Trends

Fred Hoiberg has accomplished a fair amount in Lincoln, but beating Illinois isn’t on that list. The Cornhuskers have lost nine in a row to the Fighting Illini, with Hoiberg going 0-8 against Illinois. It’s either gone to overtime, or it hasn’t been close at all. Of the past eight meetings, two have needed extra time to decide, and Illinois won the other six by double digits.

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Illinois’ quick pace has meant a lot of baskets, whether or not it’s the Illini who are scoring them. The over has cashed in eight of Illinois’ past 10 games, and it’s not always because of Illinois’ offense. Against Maryland, the Terrapins cashed the over because they scored 91 points, not because of anything Illinois did.

The Difference-Makers

Illinois excels at 3-point defense, which is likely to make life tough on Brice Williams. If Williams doesn’t get going, it’s tough for Nebraska to really make much of a dent in the defense. Either Williams has to find his shot, or someone else is going to have to step up.

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Kasparas Jakucionis needs to shoulder more of the load with Tomislav Ivisic still less than 100%. Ivisic would have been a big help inside, but with him still recovering from illness, Jakucionis’ shooting will play a bigger role.

The Pick

Illinois is always hard to bet because it has such a high variance from one end to the other. When the Illini are at their best, they’re worthy of a top-four seed. When they’re at their worst, they can be easily beaten.

But this Nebraska team isn’t quite on that level. The Huskers have come back to earth since the strong start to the season, and they’re just not up to where they need to be. With the small number, Illinois should get the job done.