Iowa vs. Illinois Elite Eight Game Preview, Picks, Odds & Data

By Thom Cunningham | Mar 27, 2026, 5:11pm

Big Ten foes square off for a chance at the Final Four, as the Iowa Hawkeyes take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in this electric Elite Eight meeting. Let’s go through all the betting numbers for this familiar meeting as we dive into the betting trends, odds, data and predictions for this South Region championship game.

Iowa vs. Illinois Betting Analysis

Iowa is on a role right now, as no one could have expected the Hawkeyes as a Final Four contender weeks ago. After an improbable run to take the lead late against Nebraska in the Sweet 16, the Hawkeyes have now covered three straight games while improving their ATS record on a neutral court to 6-2 overall. Iowa failed to cover eight of 11 games prior to their 3-0 ATS run, and what goes up must come down – so the question becomes can Iowa sustain this ATS success?

Well, Illinois is on a 13-0 SU run against non-AP ranked schools in March when competing as an AP ranked school. Illinois has won the first half in 11 straight games against non-AP ranked schools. The Fighting Illini are also on a 3-0 ATS run, and actually won both SU and ATS against Iowa earlier this season. With that said, the spread was only 1.5-points and Iowa covered the given +8-point spread Illinois has for Saturday’s meeting.

Looking at the total, Iowa has gone Over 139 total points in 12 straight Big Ten games played on a neutral court. Iowa has also hit the Over in four of six games, while Illinois doesn’t have too many total trends to mention but have entered overtime in four of nine Big Ten games.

Iowa vs. Illniois Best Bet, Pick & Prediction

Score Prediction: Illinois 75, Iowa 72
Best Bet: Over 138 (-115)

Iowa vs. Illinois Game Information

Date: Saturday, Mar. 28, 2026
Time: 6:09 p.m. ET
Network: TBS
Region: South
Location: Houston, Texas
Venue: Toyota Center

Iowa vs. Illinois Betting Resources

Iowa vs. Illinois Betting Odds

Iowa vs. Illinois Betting Data

Iowa Hawkeyes

Region Odds:
Final Four Odds:
National Title Odds:

Seed: No. 9
Record: 24-12
Conference: Big Ten
PS/G: 75
PA/G: 66.1
ORtg: 118.6
DRtg: 104.6

Illinois Fighting Illini

Region Odds:
Final Four Odds:
National Title Odds:

Seed: No. 3
Record: 27-8
Conference: Big Ten
PS/G: 84.2
PA/G: 69
ORtg: 125.7
DRtg: 103

Iowa vs. Illinois Key Players

Iowa Hawkeyes

Tate Sage – Last Game: 19 points, 8 rebounds
Bennett Stirtz – Last Game: 20 points, 4 assists
Alvaro Folgueiras – Last Game: 16 points, 3 steals

Illinois Fighting Illini

David Mirkovic – Last Game: 14 points, 1o rebounds
Keaton Wagler – Last Game: 13 points, 12 rebounds
Andrej Stojakovic – Last Game: 13 points

Photo Credit: AP/Ashley Landis

Thom Cunningham

Thom Cunningham is the Lineups.com News Editor and has been involved with sports media for almost two decades at Spectrum, VegasInsider.com, Oddschecker, VSiN and much more as a content producer - focused on the betting and gaming space over the last decade tracking insights, data analytics and covering various markets from the NFL to the Oscars.