Alabama vs Illinois Prediction 11-20-24 College Basketball Picks

The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Alabama Crimson Tide meet Wednesday in College Basketball action from Legacy Arena. Here’s an Alabama vs Illinois prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Alabama vs Illinois pick.

Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Preview

The Illini posted a couple of blowout wins to kick off the season with a proverbial bang. Illinois started with a 112-67 dismantling of Eastern Illinois. Game two was a 90-58 win at home versus Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on November 8.

In their most recent outing last Wednesday versus Oakland, the Illini posted another double-digit win. Illinois was up 36-29 by halftime then hit a 30-25 run from there in a 66-54 result. Tops scorer Tomislav Ivisic finished with 20 points and six rebounds.

Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Preview

Over on the Alabama side, they’ve got four Games in the bag so far. The Tide kicked things off with a 110-54 blowout win over UNC Asheville, then beat Arkansas State by an 88-79 margin. Alabama’s third Game was a 72-64 win over McNeese State.

In the Purdue Game on Friday, Alabama took their first loss of the season. The Tide were within two points at the break but couldn’t get any closer in an 87-78 loss. Leading team scorer Labaron Philon finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Alabama will take on Houston and Rutgers after this one.

Why the Alabama Crimson Tide will win

• Alabama has won each of its last six games when playing with a rest disadvantage.
• Illinois has lost five of its last six games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
• Alabama has won the first half in four of its last five games against the Big Ten Conference at neutral venues.

Why the Illinois Fighting Illini will win

• Illinois has won 11 of its last 12 night games against non-conference opponents.
• Alabama has lost four of its last five games against AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
• Illinois has won the first half in 12 of its last 13 night games.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Illinois’ last 19 night games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents has produced a total of 163 or fewer points.
• Each of Alabama’s last three games against the Big Ten Conference has produced a total of 165+ points.

Alabama vs Illinois Prediction

I’ll probably just stick with the Tide. We should have a really fun matchup in store here, though. Alabama didn’t play terribly against a very good Purdue squad in their last Game, shooting 44.4 percent from the field with a 37-35 rebounding edge and eight turnovers. The Tide gave up 49.2 percent shooting on the other side though, as well as 56.3 percent from outside.

As for Illinois, they got minutes for a lot of different players during their win over Oakland and maintained a 37-27 advantage on the boards. The Illini played a sloppy overall game though, coughing up 18 turnovers. Illinois is going to have to play perfect basketball with lots of high-percentage shots if they’re going to stand a chance at winning this one. I don’t think the Illini will quite get there cover-wise, but it’ll be an entertaining game to watch.