Illinois vs Iowa Odds and Picks (Dec. 6)

• Iowa is a 3-point home favorite over Illinois on Monday night
• Iowa had its season-opening seven-game winning streak snapped at Purdue on Friday
• A look at the matchup and odds can be found below with a prediction

Iowa will try to bounce back from its first loss of the season when it hosts Illinois at 7 pm ET Monday in a Big Ten game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

Iowa, despite missing its top player, played #2 Purdue tough on the road before losing 77-70 on Friday in its conference opener. That came after seven straight wins to start the season.

Illinois has a four-game winning streak, including routing Rutgers 85-61 on Friday to start Big Ten play.

The Hawkeyes are favorites in a game that will be televised by FS1.

Illinois vs Iowa Odds

Odds as of December 5th at FanDuel.

Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Analysis

Behind senior guard Alfonso Plummer’s 24 points, Illinois rolled over Rutgers. In his first season after transferring from Utah, Plummer is averaging 15.1.

Plummer is heating up after a slow start. He has averaged 24.0 points in his last four games after averaging 6.5 in his first four.

GET OVER HERE 😤 pic.twitter.com/HX3qWYm41H

— Plummer 👌🏾 (@AlfonsoPlummer9) December 4, 2021

Junior center Kofi Cockburn has been leading the way for Illinois. The preseason All-American is averaging 24.0 points and 10.6 rebounds.

Cockburn scored a season-low 12 points against Rutgers but pulled down a season-high 15 rebounds. He has three double-doubles in five games after sitting out the first three games because of an NCAA rules violation.

Senior wing Jacob Grandison added 16 points and bumped his season average to 11.6.

Cockburn helped Illinois out-rebound  Rutgers 47-33, while the Illini held the Scarlet Knights to 30.9% (21 of 68) shooting.

Kofi Cockburn: averaging : 24 ppg , 10.6 rebounds, and hitting 70% of his FT (30/43); and nearly 70% FG pic.twitter.com/74mOIurJ3I

— Dariush Takhtehchian, M.D (@takhtehchianmd) December 5, 2021

A 16-2 run gave Illinois an 18-7 lead with 11 minutes left in the first half. A 14-4 spurt later in the half increased the advantage to 32-13 and Rutgers never got within single digits.

Sophomore guard Andre Curbelo is expected to miss his fourth straight game because of a concussion. He has averages of 9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists.

Iowa Hawkeyes Betting Analysis

It is easy to wonder if Iowa could have knocked off Purdue if sophomore forward Keegan Murray had not missed the game with an ankle injury.

Murray is off to a great start with averages of 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots. He started just four games last season.

Keegan Murray is very good at basketball. @BarstoolUIowa
pic.twitter.com/uRIa2UKOoy

— Barstool College Basketball (@StoolCBB) November 30, 2021

Iowa expects Murray to return to the lineup Monday.

Sophomore forward Patrick McCaffrey is Iowa’s second leading scorer at 12.0 points a game. The son of Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists against the Boilermakers.

Sophomore forward Kris Murray, Keegan’s twin brother, has averages of 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds. Senior guard Jordan Bohannon has a 10.5 scoring average in his sixth season with the Hawkeyes.

"That's like a layup for that kid!!!"

Jordan Bohannon knocks down an easy 3 👀 pic.twitter.com/Ne6uC2F9A8

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 17, 2021

On Friday, sophomore forward Tony Perkins scored 14 points and Kris Murray finished with 12.

Iowa missed Keegan Murray on the glass as Purdue outrebounded the Hawkeyes 42-30. Iowa had just nine turnovers while forcing the Boilermakers into 17.

Illinois vs Iowa Prediction

Illinois has won three games in a row against Iowa after losing five straight to the Hawkeyes.

Last season, Illinois won 80-75 in the regular season at home then 82-71 in the Big Ten Tournament. In that postseason game, Cockburn had 26 points and 8 rebounds to lead Illinois while Bohannon finished with 20 points, 6 assists and 5 three-pointers in a losing effort.

Iowa has beaten teams by an average of 31.7 points in its six games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season. Illinois is the toughest team to come to Iowa City in 2021-22 but look for the Hawkeyes to cover with Keegan Murray back in the lineup.

Pick: Iowa -3 (-122)