Washington Huskies- NCAAB

Washington Huskies vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 01/29/26

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Washington
11-9
Washington
Today
Illinois
17-3
Illinois

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Illinois Fighting Illini
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Washington vs Illinois Pickswise Expert Predictions

Game Totals Pick
Under 153.0(-110)

The Washington Huskies will travel to Champaign on Thursday night for a Big 10 Conference game against the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Fighting Illini have looked like one of the best teams in the country, riding a nine-game winning streak. They are coming off a monster win at Purdue and will look to make it ten straight with a win against Washington. The Huskies have lost three out of their last four games but are coming off a double digit win against Oregon on Sunday. It should be a great battle between two of the best freshmen in the country in Keaton Wagler and Hannes Steinbach, but my best of the game is the under.

I like the under in this game because both teams play at a relatively slow pace and their totals have been under in most of their games this season. Since Illinois last lost on December 13th, they play at one of the slowest paces in the country. According to Bart Torvik, they are ranked #308 nationally in adjusted tempo since their last lost. Similarly, Washington is ranked #192 in adjusted tempo this season and do not shoot the ball well. They are ranked #288 in three-point percentage this season at Bart Torvik and do not get to the line at a high rate. The total has gone under in 60 percent of Illinois games this season and 63.2 percentage of Washington’s. Take the under here.

*Under 153 available at time of publishing. Playable at 152*

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Lock Mamba

My name is Robby Nardini and I have been a diehard college basketball fan my whole life. I am a former University of Illinois basketball manager and have been writing about college hoops since I moved on from the program in 2020. My gambling picks here on Pickswise are heavily calculated by using my overall college basketball knowledge, specific trends and analytical sites such as KenPom, Bart Torvik, Evan Miya and more. I write here at Pickswise as well as Illinois basketball specific outlets such as Armchair Illini and The Champaign Room. You can find me on X @robbynardini and @lockmamba, where I write a wide range of college hoops focused pieces and do my own Bracketology.
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