Prediction, Betting Odds for MSU Basketball vs. Illinois on Saturday

Posted by author February 15, 2025 Basketball

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Michigan State basketball will need to pull off an upset on Saturday night if they’re going to remain in the Big Ten title hunt.

The Spartans travel to Illinois on Saturday night, looking to break out of a recent rough stretch of games. Michigan State lost a stunner as a double-digit home favorite against Indiana earlier this week, and has lost three of its last four games. The Spartans are 19-5 overall and 10-3 in Big Ten play.

Illinois is starting to play more like the Big Ten title contenders we expected earlier this year. The Fighting Illini have won three of their four games in February, which included an impressive win over hot UCLA earlier this week. Illinois is 17-8 overall and 9-6 in Big Ten play this year.

Michigan State knocked off Illinois in their first meeting earlier this year at the Breslin Center.

Michigan State is listed as the underdog in this matchup. The Spartans will need a victory to keep up with Purdue and Michigan for the Big Ten regular season title. A loss for the Spartans would make it extremely difficult to win at least a share of the Big Ten title.

Check out the game odds, prediction and viewing options below.

Michigan State vs. Illinois game odds:

All College Basketball Odds via BetMGM:

Point spread: Illinois minus-5 1/2
Money line: Michigan State plus-190 / Illinois minus-235
Over/under: 155 1/2

Michigan State vs. Illinois prediction, pick

Michigan State played its worst game of the season on Tuesday so I expect a bounce-back effort in this extremely important matchup. Ultimately, though, this is a hard game to win on the road and I think Illinois is able to make the winning play late to put the Spartans’ Big Ten regular season title odds on life support.

Prediction: Michigan State 76, Illinois 78

Michigan State vs. Illinois channel, start time, streaming:

The Michigan State vs. Indiana game starts at approximately 8 p.m. ET on Saturday and can be seen on Fox.

Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire.

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