The Duke Blue Devils rival the Auburn Tigers for the status of top seed in the NCAA Tournament. On Saturday night, Duke has an intriguing College Basketball odds matchup that will prepare them for 2025 March Madness. Duke will face the Illinois Fighting Illini at Madison Square Garden in New York. Namely, MSG is known as the “World’s Most Famous Arena.” Illinois is an almost certain NCAA Tournament team. Thus, FOX made this matchup its Saturday night national TV showdown. Duke will be the favorite, but Illinois could be an attractive underdog to bargain hunters.
Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Duke Blue Devils NCAAB Betting Information
| Date and Time: | Saturday, February 22, 2025, 8 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York |
| TV Coverage: | FOX |
| Betting Online Odds at SBG: | Click Here |
Illinois Fighting Illini Team Overview
Late on Illinois Fighting Illini has covered one of its previous four games. Illinois has gone over the total in five of its last eight outings. First among Illinois scorers is Kasparas Jakucionis, with 16.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Tomislav Ivisic adds 12.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
Illinois is in 7th place in the Big Ten Conference Standings. Illinois is 3.5 games behind the Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten Conference Standings.
Overall, the Illinois Fighting Illini are 17-9 straight up, 12-13-1 against the spread, and 15-11 over/under the sportsbook total. Illinois has national metrics of 11th for scoring offense, 181st for field goal percentage, 319th for 3-point field goal percentage, 51st for free throw percentage, and 1st for offensive rebounding. While defensively, Illinois is 182nd for scoring defense, 32nd for field goal percentage permitted, 68th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 110th for defensive rebounding.
Duke Blue Devils Team Overview
Late on, Duke has covered three of its previous five games. Duke has gone over the total in four of its last six outings. First among Duke scorers is Cooper Flagg with 19.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Kon Knueppel adds 13 points per game. While Tyrese proctor averages 12.2 points per contest.
Duke is in 1st place in the ACC Conference Standings. Clemson is one game behind the Blue Devils in the ACC Conference Standings.
Overall, the Duke Blue Devils are 22-3 straight up, 15-10 against the spread, and 11-14 over/under the college basketball lines total. Duke has national metrics of 35th for scoring offense, 27th for field goal percentage, 25th for 3-point field goal percentage, 26th for free throw percentage, and 33rd for offensive rebounding. While defensively, Duke is 6th for scoring defense, 7th for field goal percentage permitted, 92nd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 15th for defensive rebounding.
Duke at Illinois SBG Free Picks
Illinois has been a poor underdog value. The Fighting Illini got the cash in only one of their last five games as dogs. Illinois went under the total in three of their last ten games as the underdog.
Duke has been a reliable value as a chalk. The Blue Devils have covered five of their most recent nine games as chalk. Four of the last six Duke games went over the total when they were favored.
In this series, Duke got the money in three of their most recent five meetings with Illinois. Two of the last three games between the Fighting Illini and Blue Devils went over the total.
Duke is the better team but will get a fair price against a respected Illinois brand. Over the total meets most of the current trends.
Duke at Illinois SBG Best Bet: Duke Blue Devils and Over the Total.