The Rutgers Scarlet Knights take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in Champaign, IL. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on BTN.
Illinois is favored by 22.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -7000. The total is set at 145.5 points.
Here’s my Rutgers vs. Illinois prediction and college basketball picks for January 8, 2026.
Rutgers vs Illinois Prediction
My Pick: Illinois -21.5
My Rutgers vs Illinois best bet is on the Fighting Illini to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Rutgers vs. Illinois Odds
| Rutgers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+22.5 -110 | 145.5 -110o / -110u | +2000 |
| Illinois Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-22.5 -110 | 145.5 -110o / -110u | -7000 |
Rutgers vs Illinois Betting Preview
Rutgers Basketball
Rutgers looks to continue to build off of its first Big Ten win of the season, as it defeated Oregon in overtime on Monday, 88-85. Despite a poor team shooting night overall, a heroic 30-point effort from Tariq Francis off the bench kept the Scarlet Knights in this one.
A second-half surge was critical for Rutgers to cut into an eight-point deficit, and key foul shooting down the stretch gave the Scarlet Knights the chance they needed to win the game.
Rutgers needed 58 bench points to pull out a win against Oregon, and its starting five is going to need to show up locked in if it's going to pull off another upset.
Illinois Basketball
Illinois has played really good basketball since dropping a December 13 home date against Nebraska. The Illini have been more deliberate offensively and the defense has really done well to contest shots and create empty possessions.
This offense is loaded with talent and is led by Keaton Wagler, Kylan Boswell and Andrej Stojakovic.
The Illini rebound well and get plenty of second-chance points, and I would expect them to feast on the offensive glass in this game.
Defensively, the Illini are excellent at forcing bad shots or deep 3s late in the possession and are also top-25 nationally in shot blocking.
Illinois has been excellent all season in keeping opponents off the foul line and are second nationally in defensive free-throw rate. Rutgers lived at the line in its win over Oregon — which is nothing new for the Scarlet Knights — so Illinois could be tested if some of its players get into foul trouble early.
Rutgers vs. Illinois Betting Analysis
Illinois is a deserved favorite of 21.5 points with a total that opened 147.5 and has been bet down to 145.
I'm going to lay it with Illinois.
Rutgers has strung together some competitive performances during this recent four-game home stretch, but the offense has struggled badly away from Jersey Mike's Arena.
In four road/neutral affairs, Rutgers has scored 60, 63, 60 and 59 points and that lack of scoring options among the starting five really gets magnified on the road.
Francis went for 30 points against Oregon, but that can't be counted on nightly. With Harun Zrno and Dylan Grant being so sporadic offensively, other guys are going to have to step up.
The Scarlet Knights don't shoot the 3-ball very effectively, and I worry about their ability to procure touches in the paint. Thus, this seems like a bad matchup for Rutgers.
Rutgers is sound defensively, and it goes through stretches where it looks like it can defend against anybody. There are also times where the defense gets overmatched and the lack of effort is evident.
We've seen some defensive struggles out of Rutgers in league play this season, as it's surrendered 80 or more points in every Big Ten contest.
Illinois is unbelievably efficient on the offensive end. In fact, it's third in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric. The bigs crash the boards well and the Illini aren't sloppy or careless with the ball.
I don’t think Rutgers is going to be proficient enough defensively to force uncharacteristic turnovers or empty possessions. Illinois will dominate in the paint, and if shooters are knocking down shots, this could be quite a showing for the Illini offense.
My Pick: Illinois -21.5 (Play to 23.5)
