GAME:  #639 Northwestern vs #640 Illinois
TIME:    2/16/2021 – 9:00p EST
SPREAD:  Illinois -12.5
TOTAL:      144

The Northwestern Wildcats (6-12, 3-11) have a BIG 10 road game against the #5 Illinois Fighting Illini (14-5, 10-3) at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois on Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST. The Wildcats lost at Rutgers by a score of 50-64 and Illinois barely won in OT at Nebraska by a score of 77-72. Illinois will be looking for its sixth straight win in the head-to-head series over Northwestern. 

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

This season on the road, the Northwestern Wildcats are averaging 66 points on 43% field goal shooting along with 7.9 three-pointers on 34% three-point shooting per game. The Wildcats are allowing 76 points per game on 46% field-goal shooting while forcing 12 turnovers and adding 6 steals and four blocks per game on the defense. The Wildcats are led by Chase Audige who is averaging 12.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and two assists per game.

ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI

The Illinois Fighting Illini are averaging 82 points on 50% field goal shooting along with 7.7 threes on 38% three-point shooting and 9 offensive rebounds per game.  Illinois is allowing 64 points per game of 38% field goal shooting while forcing 11.4 turnovers and adding 6.9 steals and 3.1 blocks per game on defense.  Illinois is led by Ayo Dosunmu who is averaging 21.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. 

TRENDS

NORTHWESTERN

• The Wildcats are 1-8-1 ATS in their last 10 games vs. a team with a winning record.
• Wildcats are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
• Over is 9-2 in the Wildcats’ last 11 games following an ATS loss.
• Over is 4-1 in the Wildcats’ last 5 games as a road underdog.

ILLINOIS

• Over is 4-0 in Fighting Illini’s last 4 vs. a team with a losing record.
• Fighting Illini are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 Tuesday games.
• Over is 8-1 in Fighting Illini’s last 9 games following an ATS loss.
• Under is 6-1-1 in Fighting Illini’s last 8 games following a straight-up win.
• Under is 5-1-1 in Fighting Illini’s last 7 games as a home favorite.

HEAD TO HEAD

• The favorite is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
• Road team is 13-5 ATS in the last 18 meetings.

NORTHWESTERN vs ILLINOIS PREDICTION PICK

The last time these teams met on Jan 7th, Northwestern dominated Illinois in the first half but in the 2nd half Illinois pounded NW 53-13. With Illinois coming off a poor performance against Nebraska and with the Northwestern 1st half in recent memory, the Fighting Illini should show up to play especially in the first half. Look for Illinois to dominate the glass as well especially on the offensive end. The early public is jumping on Northwestern because of Illinois‘ poor performance last time out but you can expect the Fighting Illini to show up today. Illinois is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 home games while the under is 6-1-1 in their last 8 games following a win. Northwestern will have to score to stay in this game at all which gives the Over the best chance of coming in. The Bookie is rolling with the Illinois Fighting Illini to cover the spread. 

BETTING ANGLES:

The Bookie:         Illinois -12.5 / Over 144
Fade the Public:  Illinois / Under
Sharp Action:      no data / Over