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How and what to watch for Nebraska vs. No. 5 Illinois

The Fighting Illini are trying to keep pace with both Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten standings.

By Jovan C. Alford

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NCAA Basketball: Illinois at Minnesota
Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn passes the ball to guard Jacob Grandison while Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Brandon Johnson and guard Marcus Carr defend in the first half at Williams Arena
David Berding-USA TODAY Sports

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will try to upset the No. 5-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET, as I-L-L looks to keep pace with Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten standings.

The Cornhuskers (5-16, 1-12 Big Ten) enter this conference matchup on a four-game losing streak after falling to the Penn State Nittany Lions 86-83 on Tuesday. Nebraska has not beat Illinois since Jan. 16, 2016. These two squads just played on Feb. 12, where the Cornhuskers lost 77-72 at home.

The Illini (16-6, 12-4 Big Ten) saw their seven-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday as they lost 81-72 to the Michigan State Spartans. Tom Izzo’s team made sure Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu were not major factors in the outcome. Cockburn only had 13 points and six rebounds, while Dosunmu added 17 points (6-18 FG, 1-6 3pt), nine rebounds, and five assists.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Nebraska vs. Illinois on Thursday, February 25th at 7:00 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network, or you can stream it on the Fox Sports Go app with a cable or streaming service login. If you don’t have a cable login to access the Fox Sports Go app, you can get a free trial from YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, or Sling TV to stream it.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Illinois -14.5
Point Total: 145
Money line: Nebraska +850, Illinois -1667

  • Even though the Cornhuskers are one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, they are 4-2 against the spread in their last six games. The point total has gone under in six of Nebraska’s last nine games this season.
  • This season at State Farm Center, the Illini have a record of 8-4 against the spread. The point total has gone under in seven of Illinois’ last eight games at home.

The Best Bet

After suffering a bad loss to Michigan State, we should expect Illinois to take care of business against Nebraska. When these two teams played earlier this month, the Illini just snuck by with a 77-72 win over the Nebraska. However, when Illinois is double-digit favorites they are 3-4 against the spread. As for the Cornhuskers, they are 5-5 against the spread as double-digit underdogs this season.

Pick: Illinois -14.5

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