Michigan vs Illinois Odds & Predictions (Mar. 2)

• Michigan meets Illinois in a Big Ten matchup on Thursday, March 2nd
• Illinois is a home favorite over Michigan at the State Farm Center
• Check out all the odds and Michigan vs Illinois predictions, below

The Wolverines have a lot of work to do. If Michigan (17-12, 11-7 Big Ten) has any hope of making the NCAA tournament a win against Illinois on Thursday night is crucial. However, at this point, a ticket to the tournament is no sure thing. The Wolverines face off against the Fighting Illini on Thursday night in a must-win contest. This year’s Michigan vs Illinois game is sure to be a thrilling affair.

Illinois (19-10, 10-8 Big Ten) were soundly beaten by Ohio State 72-60 on Sunday. A 41-point first half from the Buckeyes had the Illini on their heels from the jump, and the men in orange failed to recover.

Michigan vs Illinois gets underway on Thursday, March 2nd at 7pm ET. Until then check out all the odds and our best bets for Michigan vs Illinois below.

Michigan vs Illinois Odds

Michigan enters this matchup as 3.5-point underdogs in Thursday’s college basketball odds. While the total for Michigan vs Illinois sits at 144.5. Michigan has covered the spread in three straight games, while Illinois has covered just once in their last 5 games played.

Importantly, the Fighting Illini have won five straight games against Michigan, including a 93-85 victory last season. Moreover, the Wolverines have failed to win in Champaign since the 2015-16 campaign.

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Odds as of March 1st on FanDuel. Claim the FanDuel Sportsbook promo code. 

Michigan Betting Trends

After struggling out of the gate to begin this season, the Michigan Wolverines have been on a tear of late. Juwan Howard’s men demolished their competition in February, winning 6 of their 8 games played.

Having said that, the Wolverines still have work to do if they want to compete in the NCAA tournament.

The shot that kept Michigan’s tournament hopes alive pic.twitter.com/AeY7UFoZLt

— College Basketball Review (@CbbReview) February 26, 2023

While Hunter Dickinson hit a massive shot to keep Michigan’s hopes alive in an eventual overtime win over Wisconsin, the final two regular season games will be huge for the Wolverines. Most bracketologists have Michigan on the bubble for an NCAA tournament berth. Winning both of their final regular season games, and at least one game in the Big Ten tournament will be crucial.

Thankfully, the Wolverines can rely on sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin who has been lighting it up so far in 2023. Bufkin scored a career-high 28 points in the overtime win over Wisconsin and has scored in double figures in each of the last eight contests. Kobe is a huge reason the Wolverines are on a 6-2 streak. Bufkin will need to be at his very best on both ends of the court for Michigan to have any shot at ending its losing streak vs Illinois.

Illinois Betting Trends

On the flip side, the Fighting Illini will aim to get their season back on track after suffering a demoralizing 72-60 loss to Ohio State on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the team may come into Thursday’s game distracted after freshman guard Jayden Epps went down at Tuesday’s practice. While Epps seems to be fine, he will miss this contest, leaving Illinois without its third-leading scorer. The Illini will sorely miss his dynamism in the backcourt.

.@Jaydenepps_ 𝐯𝐬. 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲

Epps tore out on a solo 8-0 run to start the second half last night 😤#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/J5BMWFtPGS

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) February 21, 2023

Brad Underwood’s team isn’t desperate to win this game, as Illinois is currently projected to be a no.9 or 10 seed in the tournament. That being said, they are hardly a top team in the NCAA Tournament champion odds.

Without Epps, Illinois will lean even more heavily on Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon Jr. The Illini’s leading scorer at just over 17 points per game, Shannon Jr. is shooting nearly 38% from three at home on the year.

Michigan vs Illinois Prediction

Juwan Howard has never defeated Illinois as head coach of the Wolverines, losing each of his five matchups. Thursday’s game would be an excellent place to change that.

While the Illini are clearly the better team this season, this is a must-win game for Michigan. The Wolverines are equipped with a much more efficient defense. Couple that with the fact that this Illinois team struggles with turnovers and we have all the makings of an upset. Take the underdogs to pull out the victory on Thursday night.

Michigan vs Illinois Pick: Michigan to win +142