Illinois vs Texas Predictions, Odds, Picks & Spread (Dec. 6)

• The Illinois Fighting Illini take on the Texas Longhorns on Tuesday, December 6th
• The Longhorns have opened up as 3.5-point favorites in the college basketball odds
• Take a look at the Illinois vs Texas odds plus our prediction, below

It’s a monster matchup between two of the best in the nation when Illinois (6-2, 5-3 ATS) hooks up with the Texas Longhorns (6-0, 3-3 ATS) on Tuesday, December 6th in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Tipoff for this battle between ranked opponents is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET on Broadway.

The Fighting Illini are actually coming off a five point loss to Maryland, while the number two ranked Longhorns have yet to lose a game this year. Texas is a 3.5-point favorite in the college basketball odds for this contest.

Below, we give you more Illinois vs Texas odds, plus we’ll analyze the game and give you our best bet and prediction.

Illinois vs Texas Odds

Odds as of December 5th at FanDuel Sportsbook. Claim the FanDuel Sportsbook promo code. 

Expect these teams to climb the board when looking at which teams to pick in the odds to win March Madness. For this game, with moneyline odds of -172, Texas have an implied win probability of 63.24% while Illinois have a 41.32% implied win probability at +142 on the moneyline.

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Illinois Betting Outlook

The Fighting Illini are led by Terrence Shannon Jr. who is amongst the favorites to win Big Ten player of the year. He scored 19 in their loss to Maryland and is averaging just shy of 20 points per game this season.

TERRENCE SHANNON JR. LADIES AND GENTS 🔥 @IlliniMBB x @Sn1per_T pic.twitter.com/tOghwTcW3O

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 3, 2022

Illinois have had quite the out of conference schedule to begin the season with tests against ranked opponents, UCLA, Virginia and Maryland. They will not be intimidated by playing on the big stage in the Big Apple or facing the second ranked team in the nation.

Defense has been the calling card of this squad this year. With an adjusted defensive efficiency of 89.7, the Fighting Illini rank 12th in the entire nation according to KenPom. No team has scored more than 71 points against them this year and they’ve given up an average of only 60.5 points per game this season.

Texas Longhorns Betting Analysis

There aren’t too many holes you can poke in this Texas team. Not only are they undefeated, but they’ve also managed convincing victories over ranked opponents like Gonzaga and most recently Creighton.

While we already mentioned how proud Illinois can be of their defensive prowess so far this season, Texas has been on a whole other level. They rank third in Division I in adjusted defensive efficiency and sixth in opponents effective field goal percentage.

the boys are in the Big Apple 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/y7Iz6dOycQ

— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) December 4, 2022

As such, they’ve gone under the oddsmakers betting line in four of their last five games. In their last three contests, they’ve held their opponents to a combined 36.2% field goal percentage.

In their last game, Texas’ defense held Creighton to a season-low 67 points on 40.9% shooting from the floor, including a 4-of-27 mark (14.8%) from long distance. Creighton entered the game averaging 83.9 points per contest while converting 51.2% from the floor, including a 38.2 percent mark from beyond the arc.

Illinois vs Texas Pick & Prediction

Does Illinois have enough to hand Texas their first loss of the season in the college basketball odds on Tuesday night? If it’s tight at the end, which we expect, Illinois does have the best go-to scorer in their senior guard, Shannon Jr, but it’s tough to bet against a Texas squad that’s played impeccable ball so far.

2022-23 KenPom College Basketball Rankings

It feels like this game could come down to the last bucket, but where we feel most confident is in the defensive ability of both squads. Combine that with the fact there may be some nerves playing under the bright lights at the Garden, and the under feels like the pick of the night in this game.

The under is 6-1 in the Fighting Illini’s last seven games against a team with a winning record, while Texas’ defensive acumen speaks for itself. Our prediction and best bet is to pick under 140.5 points in the Illinois vs Texas college basketball odds.

Pick: Under 140.5 (-110)