Illinois vs Oregon Game Information

Illinois vs Oregon Preview

No. 22 Illinois (9-3, 1-1 in Big Ten) heads to the Pacific Northwest to face No. 9 Oregon (12-1, 1-1 in Big Ten) for the first official Big Ten Conference meeting between these 2 College Basketball powers on Thursday. In their last 5, the Fighting Illini are 3-2, losing to rivals Northwestern in Evanston by 4 in OT (70-66), beating Wisconsin by 6 in Champaign (86-80), losing to No. 1-ranked Tennessee by 2 (66-64), edging Missori by 3 (80-77) and throttling Chicago State by 53 in their last game (117-64). In the Ducks last 5, they are 4-1, beating former Pac-12 and now Big Ten rivals USC by 8 in Southern California in their first Big Ten game ver (68-60), losing to upstart UCLA by 2 in Eugene (73-71), and then beating Stephen F Austin by 18 (79-61), old Pac-12 stalwarts and now ACC side Stanford by 15 (76-51) and Weber State by 40 in their last game (89-49). DraftKings currently has Oregon at 65/1 to win the 2025 NCAA Basketball Tournament with Illinois priced at 50/1.

Illinois Facing Tough Task Here vs Ducks in Eugene

Illinois (6-5-1 ATS, 6-6-0 O/U) continues its grind against tough Power 4 conference opponents—Missouri, Arkansas, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Tennessee—with this first-ever Big Ten Showdown vs Oregon in Eugene. The Fighting Illini are led in scoring by G Kasparas Jakucionis (16.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.3 apg), C Tomislav Ivisic (14.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg), F Will Riley (12.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg), G Kylan Boswell (11.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.1 apg), G Tre White (9.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg), F Ben Humrichous (7.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg), G Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (6.3 ppg), and F Morez Johnson Jr. (5.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg). Illinois lost sparkplug Terrance Shannon Jr. to the NBA (Minnesota Timberwolves), but this team simply reloaded. The Fighting Illini (+128 Moneyline) rank No. 19 in the Points Per Game (86.4 ppg) while allowing 65.6 ppg (+20.8 ppg Scoring Differential) and are No. 3 in Rebounds Per Game (45.4) thanks to glass-happy guys like Tomislav (7-foot-1), Jakucionis (6-foot-6), Johnson (6-foot-9), and White (6-foot-7).

Illinois Betting Trends

• Illinois is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games overall
• The Fighting Illini are 7-3 SU their last 10 games overall
• Illinois ranks No. 11 (AZ) in Scoring Margin (+20.8 ppg)
• Illinois is has been Favorites in 10 of its last 12 games (Underdogs vs ALA, TENN)
• The Over is 3-1-0 in the Fighting Illini’s last 4 games

No. 9 Oregon Aims For 3rd Straight Win vs Illini

Oregon (8-5-0 ATS, 6-7-0 O/U) will probably improve as a basketball program even more, playing in this eat-or-be-eaten conference with heavyweights Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Indiana, and this Illinois squad along with old Pac-12 rivals UCLA, USC, and Washington. The Ducks have 5 players in double-digit scoring and are led by C Nate Bittle (13.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg), G TJ Bamba (10.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg), G Jackson Shelstad (10.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.7 apg), G Keeshawn Barthelemy (10.0 ppg), F Brandon Angel (10.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg), G Jadrian Tracey (9.3 ppg), and F Supreme Cook (6.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg)—a man who is destined to be a Master Chef with that name?—and F Kwame Evans Jr. (6.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg). Oregon went 12-8 last season in their last in the Pac-12 and a respectable 24-12 overall. The Ducks (-154 Moneyline) went 13-3 at Home. This season, they have already cracked the Top 10 and average 79.5 ppg (Tied-#99) while allowing 65.6 ppg and are tied for 122nd in Assists Per Game (15.5) and are tied for 94th in Rebounds Per Game (38.5).

Oregon Betting Trends

• Oregon is 9-1 SU in last 10 games overall
• The Under is 4-2-0 in the Ducks last 6 games overall
• Oregon has been an Underdog twice this year and won both outright (A&M, ALA) 
• The Ducks are 6-2-0 ATS in their last 8 games
• Oregon has been 21-Point Favorites in its last 2 at Home (SFA, WEB)

Illinois vs Oregon Prediction

These teams have played 6 times before with Illinois winning the first 4 meetings (1977 to 2005) and Oregon winning the last 2, but the last meeting came over a decade ago on December 13, 2014 when the Ducks won 77-70 in Champaign and won outright as 6-Point Road Underdogs in a game that went Over the closing Total of 145 by just 2 Points. The December before that, Oregon won 71-64 in Eugene, Pushing as 7-Point Home Favorites in a meeting that went Under the 144 Total by 9 Points. This Illinois vs Oregon NCAAB pick will lean on the depth of Oregon’s Roster, and think the unfamiliarity with Matthew Knight Arena and its rims and sightlines and funky looking court will affect Illinois which will be playing 2 Time Zones (PST) ahead of their Midwestern Body Clocks (CST) meaning this will start at 9 pm Champaign time and end after 11 pm for them. Toss in the 2,124 miles of Travel and the visitors may be physically and mentally worn down for the last 10 minutes of play and possibly lose by 6 to 9 points.

Kevin’s Pick: Oregon -2.5