The Wisconsin Badgers play the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Big Ten Tournament. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. ET on BTN.
Illinois is favored by 8.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -320. Meanwhile, Wisconsin is the underdog at +8.5 with a moneyline of +260. The total is set at 155.5 points.
Here’s my Wisconsin vs. Illinois predictions and college basketball picks for March 13, 2026.
Wisconsin vs Illinois Prediction
My Pick: Wisconsin +8.5
My Wisconsin vs Illinois best bet is on the Badgers to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Wisconsin vs. Illinois Odds
| Wisconsin Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+8.5 -110 | 155.5 -110o / -110u | +260 |
| Illinois Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-8.5 -110 | 155.5 -110o / -110u | -320 |
- Wisconsin vs Illinois spread: Illinois -8.5
- Wisconsin vs Illinois over/under: 155.5 points
- Wisconsin vs Illinois moneyline: Wisconsin +260, Illinois -320
Wisconsin vs Illinois College Basketball Betting Preview
Illinois lost its only game of the season against Wisconsin in a tight overtime matchup in Champaign.
The line is sitting at Illinois -8.5, and that feels a bit lofty.
Don’t get me wrong, Illinois is the best offensive team in the country. It leads the country in offensive efficiency, per KenPom. What makes Illinois dangerous is the amount of ways it can beat an opponent. The Illini take 3s on 50% of their shots and make 34% of them, but their bigs are active on the boards, leading to a 39% offensive rebound rate.
Keaton Wagler is the go-to guy for the Illini. The stud freshman leads the team with 17.3 points per game, but he’s hit a freshman wall of late. In his last five games, Wagler shot better than 40% from the field in one of them. The Illini need him to be his old self in this matchup.
The Badgers will do a good job holding Illinois off the glass, as they allow offensive rebounds at a 28% rate.
The one way Illinois could sting Wisconsin is scoring inside, as Illinois shoots 57% on 2s and the Badgers' 2-point defense is shaky.
I’m a believer in great guard play lifting teams at this time of the season, and Wisconsin has the best wins in the country. The Badgers own road wins over Michigan, Illinois and Purdue, largely due to the dominance of John Blackwell and Nick Boyd.
Blackwell dropped 34 in Wisconsin’s nail-biting win in the last round of the Big Ten Tournament against Washington. Boyd is dominating when driving to his left, and he shoots 48% from the field and 37% from deep.
Perhaps the absence of Nolan Winter — who’s nursing an ankle issue — is part of why the spread is higher than expected. Without Winter, it means Austin Rapp and Aleksas Bieliauskas have to play big minutes.
I don’t think that’s a crazy downgrade, though. Both Rapp and Bieliauskas can really shoot it, and they’ll benefit from Boyd’s driving ability by stretching the floor. That pair will give up buckets, but so did Winter.
My Pick: Wisconsin +8.5
