Alabama Crimson Tide vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 11/19/25

Alabama has one of the toughest schedules to start the season as they’re set to face their third straight Top-25 opponent. The Crimson Tide is coming off an 87-80 loss to Purdue in which they shot just 42.4% from the field while allowing the Boilermakers to hit 47% of their shots. Alabama’s high-powered offense will go up against a tough Illinois defense that’s holding their opponents to just 66.8 points per game and a 39.3% shooting from the field. 

While Alabama has a high-powered offense, so does Illinois. Granted, Illinois has had a significantly easier schedule compared to Alabama, facing just one Top 25 team against then No.11 Texas Tech, where they won 81-77. This Illini offense will be tough for Alabama to handle, averaging 97.8 points per game, and they present a real challenge for an Alabama defense that gives up 81.7 points per game and allows opponents to shoot 45% from the field. Illinois is also shooting 36.2% from deep, and Alabama’s defense has struggled to defend beyond the arc, allowing its opponents to shoot 34.5%. Alabama struggled to grab rebounds against Purdue, and Illinois is a great rebounding team, which I think will be the difference maker here tonight. Both teams will be able to score, but those few extra rebounds by Illinois will give them second-chance looks and help them cover this small spread at home.

Alabama vs Illinois prediction: Illinois -3.5 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.