No. 15 Illinois vs. No. 22 Ohio State odds, line: Proven college basketball model reveals spread pick for Thursday's Big Ten showdown

The No. 15 Illinois Fighting Illini can move into a tie for first place in the Big Ten standings when they host the No. 22 Ohio State Buckeyes in a key conference game on Thursday at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. The Illini (19-7, 12-4) enter the game in third place in the conference, a half game behind both Purdue and Wisconsin. Meanwhile Ohio State (17-7, 10-5) sits in fourth place in the conference, two games behind the Boilermakers and Badgers. 

Tip-off is 9 p.m. ET. The Illini are favored by six points in the latest Illinois vs. Ohio State odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the Over/Under for total points scored is 140.5. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

Before making any Ohio State vs. Illinois picks, be sure to check out what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Div. I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen HUGE returns.

The model knows that Illinois features a National Player of the Year candidate in Kofi Cockburn. The 7-foot junior from Jamaica is the only player in the country averaging at least 21 points (21.7 points per game) and 11 rebounds (11.2) this season. He owns 42 career double-doubles, the most in the NCAA over the last three years.

The model also knows that Ohio State has one of the best players in the conference in E.J. Liddell. The 6-foot-7 junior from Belleville, Ill., is fourth in the Big Ten in scoring (19.5 points per game) and is averaging 2.5 blocks this season, which is tops in the conference. He has scored in double figures in 35 straight games.

Now, the model has set its sights on Illinois vs. Ohio State. We can tell you it is leaning Over the total, predicting a combined 145 points, and it also says one side of the spread covers in well over 50 percent of simulations! You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Ohio State vs. Illinois? And which side of the spread covers in well over 50 percent of simulations? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Illinois vs. Ohio State spread you should be all over Thursday, all from the model on a roll on college basketball picks!