The defending champion and 1-seed UConn Huskies will look to keep their dominant NCAA Tournament 2024 going as they take on the No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini in an Elite 8 matchup on Saturday. UConn has won each 2024 March Madness game by double-digits, including a 30-point win over San Diego State in the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, Illinois upset 2-seed Iowa State in Thursday's Sweet Sixteen contest, and it has won seven straight overall.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6:09 p.m. ET from TD Garden in Boston. The Huskies are favored by 8.5 points in the latest UConn vs. Illinois odds, per SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 154.5.

Before making any Illinois vs. UConn picks or NCAA Tournament predictions, you need to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

The model simulates every Div. I college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the Sweet 16 round of the 2024 NCAA tournament on a 152-109 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,800 for $100 players. It also has a strong 32-21 (+890) record on top-rated spread picks this season, and it called 13 Sweet 16 teams this year. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.

The model knows that the Huskies have been utterly dominant for the second straight NCAA Tournament. They've trailed for a total of just 28 seconds over their first three games, and their 30-point victory over San Diego State was the sixth-largest Sweet 16 margin of victory of all-time. Additionally, UConn's plus-86 point differential in March Madness 2024 is the second-largest in NCAA Tournament history for a defending champion through their first three games.

But the model also has taken into account that the Illini have a bona fide star in Terrence Shannon Jr., who ranks third in all of Division I with 23.5 points per game. Shannon has elevated his game when it matters most as he's been on a tear through the Big Ten Tournament, and now, the NCAA Tournament. His 246 points scored in the month of March are the most by any player in any season since 2011-12. He also brings it on the other end of the court as he's logged multiple steals in every March Madness game, and only one player has more steals than his seven in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

For Saturday, the model has set its sights on UConn vs. Illinois. We can tell you the model is leaning Under on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits in over 50% of simulations. You ABSOLUTELY need to see the model before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Illinois vs. UConn, and which side of the spread hits over 50% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the UConn vs. Illinois spread you should be all over Saturday, all from the model on a 152-109 roll on college basketball picks!