Illinois vs Michigan Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 2 (Fighting Illini Defense Shines in Big Ten Battle)

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

Illinois vs Michigan Game Info

2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
Illinois (19-10, 10-8 Big Ten) vs. Michigan (17-12, 11-7 Big Ten)
Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: State Farm Center -- Champaign, Illinois
Coverage: ESPN

Thursday, March 2's NCAA college basketball schedule features some Big Ten action as the Illinois Fighting Illini play host to the rival Michigan Wolverines.

Illinois hopes to turn things around after falling 72-60 to Ohio State on Sunday. Meanwhile, Michigan is coming off a back-and-forth 87-79 overtime win over Wisconsin, marking the Wolverines' third consecutive victory.

Does Illinois have what it takes to win in front of the hometown crowd? Or will Michigan figure out a way to notch its fourth straight win?

Illinois vs Michigan Odds & Spread

All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: ILL: (-205) | MICH: (+168)
Spread: ILL: -4.5 (-120) | MICH: +4.5 (-102)
Total: 144.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Illinois enters this contest as the clear home favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 7 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 144.5 points with both sides sitting at -110 odds.

Illinois vs Michigan Betting Trends

Illinois has 17 wins in 29 games against the spread this year.
The Fighting Illini have an ATS record of 10-8 as 4.5-point favorites or greater.
Illinois has seen 12 of its 29 games hit the over.
Against the spread, Michigan is 15-14-0 this season.
Against the spread as 4.5-point underdogs or more, the Wolverines are 3-3.
Michigan has seen 16 of its 29 games hit the over.

Illinois Rank	Illinois AVG		Michigan AVG	Michigan Rank
121st	74.2	Points Scored	73.4	137th
59th	65.6	Points Allowed	68.7	139th
21st	35.7	Rebounds	33.6	74th
49th	10.1	Off. Rebounds	7.7	251st
137th	7.8	3pt Made	7.7	147th
229th	12.5	Assists	12.3	244th
257th	12.7	Turnovers	9.7	20th

Illinois vs Michigan Prediction & Pick

Although it has momentum, Michigan hasn't been great in away scenarios. The Wolverines are just 3-5 straight up with an even scoring margin on the road this season. Their offense also takes a dip on the road, going from 75.8 PPG on 46.3% shooting at home to 70.5 PPG on 43.7% shooting in away games.

It won't be easy beating an Illinois squad that boasts a 14-2 record at State Farm Center, where it only surrenders 60.5 PPG. That's bad news for the Wolverines, who've been held to a 61.5 PPG clip in their last four road games. With the Fighting Illini also forcing 15.1 turnovers per home contest, it's going to be hard for Michigan getting much going.

Furthermore, Illinois has vanquished Michigan in 15 of their last 20 meetings in Champaign, IL. Having defeated the Wolverines by 15 points in their last meeting at State Farm Center, look for the Fighting Illini to emerge victorious again.

Final Score Prediction: Illinois: 74 | Michigan: 68

Illinois vs Michigan Best Bet

Illinois hasn't been great at covering the spread lately, so I have my eyes on the total going under 144.5 points as the best bet. After all, neither Big Ten program is a stranger to low-scoring affairs given that they allow a combined 134.3 PPG this season.

The under is 4-1 in Michigan's last five road games, as well as 8-3 in Illinois' last 11 overall. On top of that, the under has been hit in four of the last five Illinois-Michigan collisions. Considering that they averaged just 137.4 points in those contests, I don't expect a lot of points to be scored tonight.

Bet: Under 144.5 Points (-110)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.