Illinois has the rest advantage and are off a tough loss on the road to the Bruins in OT. Illinois has dropped three of their last five but should be highly motivated tonight. One way to counter the Wolverines is to have big men that can shoot the three which Illinois has, as they’re one of the biggest teams in the country. This is also a clash in styles, as the Fighting Illini play at a slower tempo than Michigan is accustomed to. The Wolverines will look to wrap up the Big Ten regular season title tonight but Illinois has won nine straight in this series and the Wolverines are 3-6 ATS on the road.
Illinois has had all week to stew over blowing a 23-point lead in an overtime loss at UCLA last Saturday. So while Michigan had a bit of a palate-cleanser from the Duke game with its win against Minnesota at home I think the Illini are going to be breathing fire. Then there’s the matchup, which has Illinois with a notable advantage in the backcourt (Keaton Wagler and Kylan Boswell over Elliot Cadaeu and Nimari Burnett) and comparable size to handle Michigan’s 6-9, 6-9, 7-3 jumbo-sized front-court. Plus, there’s a sneaky series edge here because while Michigan might eye Ohio State or Michigan State as its primary rivals, Illinois has won nine straight against the Wolverines, a streak that dates back to Jan. 2019.
