Illinois Fighting Illini at Northwestern Wildcats Betting Preview – Jan 24, 2024

Big Ten Basketball on Wednesday will feature the Fighting Illini of Illinois on the road at the Wildcats of Northwestern. Illinois comes into the game at 14-4 on the season. The Fighting Illini are 5-2 in Big Ten play, which is third, behind Wisconsin and Purdue. The Illini have won two straight including a blowout win Sunday at home over Rutgers.

Northwestern is just behind the Illini at 4-3 in league play. Overall, the Wildcats sit with a 13-5 record. Northwestern though is coming off a road loss on Saturday at the Cornhuskers of Nebraska. The Wildcats are 6-4 in their last 10 games.

The Illinois Fighting Illini are -4 on the road in this game. The total is 146.5.

Big Lift for Illini

Terrence Shannon returned in the latest game for Illinois and scored 16 points. It was his first game since scoring 30 in the win over Missouri. He also had 11 rebounds in that game. He still leads the team with 21.3 points per game. Marcus Domask is having a big season for the Illini as well, with 14.7 points per game.

Brad Underwood’s team has moved to 10th in the country in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Fighting Illini lost by 7 early in the season at home to Marquette. Then in December, they dropped a 7 point decision at Tennessee. Once January arrived, they lost by 5 at Purdue.

Illinois finishes January with a home game against Indiana on Saturday, and then a road trip to Ohio State on January 30th. The first game of February is at home against Nebraska on the 4th.

Home Underdog Wildcats

The Northwestern Wildcats are not a high scoring team. But, with just five losses on the season, this is a tough team to take down. The Wildcats will look to get revenge on their worst loss of the season. They fell by 30 on the road at Illinois back on January 2nd. That game was without Shannon for the Illini.

Boo Buie leads four Northwestern Wildcats scoring double digits per game. He is at 17.9 points per game, and 5.2 assists. Brooks Barnhizer, Ryan Langborg and Ty Berry are the others. Those three are combining for more than 37 per game.

The Wildcats will remain at home on Saturday, and host Ohio State. Northwestern finishes January on the road at Purdue. The first game in February for the Wildcats is on the 3rd at Minnesota.

Illini Top Wildcats

Illinois is going to win this game. The Illini look to be one of the leaders of the Big Ten. They are talented and play good basketball. Northwestern is a solid team, and should get into the big dance, but not quite the level the Orange and Blue are at. Despite being on the road, the Illini win this game. Our final bet for this game is the Illinois Fighting Illini -4 over the Northwestern Wildcats. Enjoy the game and best of luck with all your College Basketball betting!

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