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2025 Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Predictions and Odds to Win National Championship

by Ryan Cobbett - 11/2/2025

Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Predictions Kylan Boswell

The Illinois Fighting Illini knew how to score last season. They took on three ranked SEC teams during their nonconference schedule. And while they went just 1-2 in those games, they were within two points of upending the top team in the country in Tennessee at the time. They battled their way through the tough Big 10 conference schedule, picking up some key ranked wins against #9 Oregon on the road, #20 Wisconsin, #15 Michigan on the road, and #18 Purdue. Overall, this team went 5-7 against Top 25 team’s last season. Illinois went on to finish the regular season with a 20-11 record while finishing with a 12-8 conference record. After a solid regular season, they continued their dominance in their first game in the conference tournament, where they beat Iowa by 12, putting up 106 points. Unfortunately, things took a big turn as Maryland eliminated the Illini with a 23-point victory. Despite coming off their crushing loss to Maryland, the Illini secured a 6-Seed in March Madness. They took down 11-Seed Xavier, beating them by 13 points in the opening round of the tournament. Unfortunately, their season would come to an end in the second round as they were eliminated by 3-Seed Kentucky.

Illinois led the conference in scoring, averaging 83.6 PPG, while shooting 45.1% as a team. Despite their high scoring, they struggled from beyond the arc as they finished with a mere 31.3% 3P%. Their defense was average, as they held opponents to just 74.8 PPG and just a 42.3% FG%. The Illini finished fifth in the Big 10 with a +8.7 PPG differential, third with a +5.2% FT% differential, first with a +9.0 RPG differential. Their -2.3% 3P% differential was tied for the worst mark in the conference. Illinois had five different players finish the season averaging double-digit PPG. Kasparas Jakucionis led the team with 15 PPG and an 84.5% FT%. He was followed by Tomislav Ivisic who averaged 13 PPG while also leading the team with 7.7 RPG and 1.2 BPG. Will Riley finished third with 12.6 PPG and he was followed by Kylan Boswell, who averaged 12.3 PPG, and Tre White, who averaged 10.5 PPG.

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Key Additions/Losses

There is a lot of returning talent for Illinois this season as last year’s deep roster bled into the offseason. The Illini did lose Jakucionis and Riley to the NBA. White was looking for a fresh start, and transferred over to the Kansas Jayhawks, while Morez Johnson Jr. transferred to Michigan after averaging 7.0 PPG and 6.7 RPG for Illinois. Carey Booth also left the team for Colorado State.

 The recruiting class is a solid group for Illinois. They are bringing in four, four-star prospects. Brandon Lee headlines the list as the shooting guard is joined by fellow guards Keaton Wagler and Mihailo Petrovic, as well as power forward David Mirkovic. Illinois also brought in two players via the transfer portal. Andrej Stojakovic is coming over from California after averaging 17.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and a 81.8% FT% last season. He is joined by big man Zvonimir Ivisic who will form one of the country best frontcourts with his twin, Tomislav.

X-Factors

3-Point Shooting- Last season, Illinois shot just 31.1% as a team from beyond the arc. Ivisic was the team’s best weapon from deep and he stands over seven-foot tall. Ben Humrichous did shoot over 34% and will be getting a bigger role with the team this season, so perhaps he can be the new deep-threat weapon to expand the floor and open up the game for the Ivisic twins to dominate. If Illinois can find someone to step up from beyond the arc, then this team will go from a really good team to a potential national champion team.

Notable Games

Home - #10 Texas Tech, #24 Wisconsin, #7 Michigan

Away/Neutral - #15 Alabama, #4 UConn, #18 Tennessee, @ #1 Purdue, @ #22 Michigan State, @ #12 UCLA

Key Odds/Rankings:

NCAA Champion: +1900

Conference Winner: +650

AP Top 25- 17th

Andy Katz’s Power 37- 19th

2025 Illinois Fighting Illini Predictions

The depth has been replenished, and the frontcourt has arguably improved. There will be a lot of attention on how well the Ivisic twins do and if they can live up to the potential of being the best center-duo in the nation. Illinois will be able to create a lot of second chance looks and force opponents outside the paint due to their size and post play. What will be interesting is whether or not they can establish a player or two to contribute from beyond the arc. If they don’t, this team does not appear to be built for big comebacks. And while that may not happen much, any slow start could be detrimental to the team in bigger games. I like Illinois and expect them to be one of the best at covering this season. Expect big things (literally) for the Illini this season and take advantage of the +650 odds of claiming the Big Ten crown.

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