Big Ten Tournament: Illinois basketball vs. Rutgers live stream, odds, channel, prediction
Illinois basketball begins its run at the Big Ten Tournament with a quarterfinal matchup against Rutgers.
The Big Ten Tournament is set to be a heavyweight fight between teams that have a legitimate chance to be among the top seeds at the NCAA Tournament. One of those top dogs is Illinois, which is the hottest team in the Big Ten entering the conference tournament.
The Fighting Illini were very impressive down the stretch, finishing the regular season on a four-game winning streak that included road victories against Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State. Illinois has lost just once since Jan. 19 and they look like one of the nation’s best teams, a brilliant stretch of play that has helped the Illini essentially lock up the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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Brad Underwood’s team begins its run at the Big Ten Tournament tonight with a matchup against Rutgers, which beat Indiana 61-50 in second-round action last night. Four different Scarlet Knights scored in double-figures, led by 13 apiece from Ron Harper Jr. and Jacob Young.
The victory also helped Rutgers punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament by avoiding a bad loss to a slumping Hoosiers team. The Scarlet Knights haven’t been to March Madness since 1991, a 30-year drought, so there will be cause for celebration in New Jersey on Selection Sunday.
These teams met just once during the regular season and it came all the way back in December, with Rutgers scoring a 91-88 victory in a thriller at the RAC on the Sunday before Christmas. A lot has changed since then for both teams so this rematch will be interesting to watch.
How to bet and watch Illinois vs. Rutgers
- Date: Friday, March 12
- Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Indianapolis, IN
- Venue: Lucas Oil Stadium
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
- Line: Illinois -8 (FanDuel)
- Prediction: Illinois 82, Rutgers 68
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