7:00 p.m. ET: Illinois Fighting Illini (18-6) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (15-9)

Spread: Illinois -3.5
Total: 134

Rutgers hosts the #12 Illinois Fighting Illini after Ron Harper Jr. scored 21 points in Rutgers’ 73-65 win against the Wisconsin Badgers. The Scarlet Knights are 12-2 on their home court. The Fighting Illini are 11-3 in Big Ten play. These teams meet for the 2nd time in conference play this season after the Fighting Illini won 86-51 in the first matchup on Dec. 4. Alfonso Plummer led the Fighting Illini with 24 points, and Jaden Jones led the Scarlet Knights with 10 points. The Scarlet Knights have run off three straight wins over Top 25 opponents, building off home wins over Michigan State and Ohio State with a 73-65 upset of then-No. 14 Wisconsin on Saturday. Illinois is holding its opponents to 40.1% shooting and 31.2% from 3-point range on the season. Rutgers upset wins over the 3 ranked opponents are the reason why the public is jumping all over the Scarlett Knights but they caught 3 teams in tough spots at the right time. Teams were overlooking Rutgers after their bad start to the season but now you will see teams paying more attention to this matchup. Rutgers may need another big win to increase their tourny chances but Illinois needs to keep winning if they want the Big 10 Conference title. Illinois has dominated Rutgers the last 2 times they met by scores of 86-51 and 90-68. Take Illinois to cover the spread in this one. 

Trends

• The Favorite is 9-4 ATS in the last 13 meetings.
   

The Bookie:          Illinois -3.5 / Over 134
Fade the Public:   Illinois / Under
Sharp Action:       Rutgers / Over