The Illinois Fighting Illini will look to pick up a win while covering the spread when they take on the Hawkeyes in Iowa at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Thursday in college basketball action.

The Big Ten Tournament battle is part of the annual season-ending league tournament. The Sportsbook gets an automatic berth in the Madness, while all teams are trying to prove they deserve a spot. The game is being played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, which makes it technically a neutral site match.

Supporters of the Fighting Illini have watched them go 17-14 and 10-19 ATS on the year, while the Hawkeyes are at 16-15 and 14-12 ATS. In totals betting, the Hawkeyes are 14-11-1, while the Fighting Illini have a 17-12 mark.



View Illinois vs Iowa Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
On the Sportsbook NCAAB line for this matchup, Iowa sat as 2-point underdogs.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Power Rankings at Odds Shark show No. 166-rated Illinois taking on the No. 202-rated Hawkeyes in this contest. The scores prediction computer here indicates a possible 70-69 win for the Fighting Illini on Thursday.



How They Match Up:
Rebounding is always a key handicapping consideration and Fighting Illini is ranked No. 269 in NCAA hoops at 32.6 per game. Contrast that with Iowa’s No. 168 mark in the paint. When it comes to three-point shooting, Iowa is the No. 238-ranked team in the country at 5.5 per game, while Illinois rates No. 210 at 5.8 per game.

Defensively, Illinois features the nation's No. 210-rated defense on the road, allowing 71.1 points per game. Iowa, meanwhile, comes in at No. 83 nationally in scoring at home.

In their last action, Illinois was a 70-56 loser on the road against Wisconsin. They failed to cover the 9.5-point spread as underdogs. Brandon Paul scored 22 points in a futile effort to lead the Fighting Illini to a win (they lost 70-56 to Wisconsin at Kohl Center on Sunday).

Last time out for Iowa, they were a 70-66 loser as they battled Northwestern at home. They failed to cover in the match as a 2.5-point favorite. Iowa got 17 points from Matt Gatens but lost anyway, 70-66, to Northwestern on Saturday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.


Illinois Fighting Illini Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 9-1
After playing Wisconsin are 4-6
After a loss are 2-8

Iowa Hawkeyes Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
After playing Northwestern are 1-9
After a loss are 6-4

A few Fighting Illini at Hawkeyes trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Iowa's last 6 games
Iowa is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Illinois
Iowa is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Illinois