Michigan beat rival Ohio State last time out for a much-needed win and faces an Illinois team that's dropped two of three and remains without suspended star Terrence Shannon Jr. But I like Illinois, which has several matchup edges, to dominate defensively and cover. Michigan has covered just one of its last six home games and has won only two of its last nine conference games straight-up.

On the “Distractions Scale,” the Fighting Illini are dealing with what is probably a nine on a scale of ten. That would be due mostly to the suspension of top scorer Terrence Shannon, Jr (21.7 ppg), which reached new levels of intrigue last week when Shannon brought suit against the school itself to be reinstated. For the moment, Shannon remains off the team, which has gone 3-2 in his absence. Even without Shannon, Illinois might be less risky here, as SIU transfer F Marcus Domask has picked up the pace after a slowish start, scoring 26 or more three times across the past four games, while fellow fifth-year sr. and transfer wing Quincy Guerrier scored 18 in the recent close loss at Purdue. Play Illinois