UConn Huskies vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 11/28/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UConn Huskies vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Friday, November 28, 2025

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: ESPN+

The UConn Huskies (5-1) are en route to Madison Square Garden on Friday where they will try to defeat the Illinois Fighting Illini (6-1).

The UConn Huskies took the court against Bryant and earned the victory with a final of 72-49 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Huskies left the arena with 19 and Bryant accounted for 20 fouls. They also converted 7 of 23 shots from beyond the arc. Bryant finished the game shooting 95.2% at the charity stripe by knocking down 20 of their 21 tries. In addition, Bryant pulled down 21 rebounds (3 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Bryant totaled 6 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. In terms of the defense, UConn allowed the other team to go 27.5% from the floor on 11 out of 40 shooting. They also recorded 17 assists in the matchup as well as forcing 19 turnovers and having 12 steals. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 37 with 14 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Huskies made 17 of their 22 tries for a percentage of 77.3%. UConn wrapped up the contest with a 39.1% FG percentage (25 of 64) and made 5 out of their 25 shots from beyond the arc.

Eric Reibe is a guy who played a role in this contest. He finished the game shooting 60.0% from the field and recorded 1 assist. He was on the court for 19 mins and also collected 6 rebounds. He ended up walking away with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting.

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UConn steps onto the hardwood with a mark of 5-1 on the year. They are giving up possession 9.5 times per contest and as a team are committing 19.2 personal fouls per game. As a team, UConn is pulling in 35.3 boards per contest and has totaled 113 assists on the campaign, which is 108th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Huskies are shooting 35.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (48 of 137) and 70.3% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 83.8 points per contest (94th in Division 1) on 51.0% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Huskies have forced 15.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.8 fouls. They are 1st in the country in giving up assists with 39 surrendered this year. The Huskies are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 38.6% (119 of 308) and they relinquish 29.5 rebounds per game as a squad. They give up 26.9% from 3-point land and they are 11th in college hoops in opponents points per game (61.3).

The last time they took the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini walked away with a victory by a final of 87-73 against UT Rio Grande. The Fighting Illini snagged 32 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 in this contest. They also gave up possession 11 times, while getting 1 steal in the game. UT Rio Grande was called for 20 fouls in this matchup which took the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 22 shots. They were able to convert 19 of them for a percentage of 86.4%. Regarding 3-point attempts, Illinois buried 8 out of 30 attempts (26.7%). When all was said and done, the Fighting Illini shot 30 for 60 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 50.0%. The Fighting Illini allowed UT Rio Grande to convert 27 of their 68 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 39.7% in this matchup. They wrapped up this game 42.3% from 3-point land by connecting on 11 of 26 and finished the contest at 8 of 16 from the free throw line (50.0%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Illinois permitted UT Rio Grande to pull down 31 in all (10 offensive).

Andrej Stojakovic was important for the Fighting Illini for the matchup. He converted 11 out of 17 for the game for a field goal rate of 64.7%, and accounted for 6 rebounds. He recorded 24 points in his 31 mins on the hardwood, but went home with no dimes.

Illinois has a win-loss record of 6-1 on the year. The Fighting Illini are responsible for committing 13.0 fouls per game and they shoot 76.8% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 14.9 times per contest (175th in college) and they turn the ball over 10.3 times per game. Illinois has accounted for 662 pts so far this year (94.6 per game) and they pull down 45.4 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Fighting Illini are shooting 50.2% from the field, which ranks 41st in D-1.

The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 111th in college in points per game surrendered with 69.7. They are forcing 8.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 40.1% from the floor (86th in D-1). The Illinois defense allows 31.5% on shots from beyond the arc (57 of 181) and their opponents are converting on 71.8% of their foul shots. They relinquish 11.4 dimes and 28.7 rebounds per game, which is 83rd and 14th in those categories.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Illinois

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