UT Rio Grande Vaqueros vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 11/24/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UTRGV Vaqueros vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Monday, November 24, 2025

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: ESPN+

State Farm Center is the site where the Illinois Fighting Illini (4-1) will meet the UTRGV Vaqueros (2-2) on Monday.

The UTRGV Vaqueros faced Southwestern Adventist and earned the victory with a final of 110-53 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Vaqueros finished with 8 and Southwestern Adventist accounted for 16 personal fouls. They made 9 of their 23 attempts from beyond the arc. Southwestern Adventist ended up going 75.0% from the free throw line by converting 6 of their 8 tries. On top of that, Southwestern Adventist snagged 17 boards (5 offensive, 12 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Southwestern Adventist distributed 11 dimes and had 4 steals for the game. When it comes to defending, UT Rio Grande allowed the other team to go 35.2% from the field on 19 out of 54 shooting. They also doled out 28 dimes in the game while forcing the other team into 17 turnovers and getting 11 steals. Pertaining to hauling in rebounds, they compiled a total of 46 with 18 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Vaqueros converted 19 of 23 shots for a percentage of 82.6%. UT Rio Grande ended with a 52.9% field goal percentage (37 of 70) and made 17 of their 36 three-point shots.

Koree Cotton is someone who came through in this contest. He finished the game shooting 66.7% from the field and also totaled 2 assists. He played for 18 mins and grabbed 3 rebounds. He scored 18 points on 6 out of 9 shooting.

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UT Rio Grande heads into this one with a record of 2-2 for the season. They are averaging 87.8 points per contest (76th in Division 1) while shooting 50.2% from the field. The Vaqueros are shooting 46.2% on three-point attempts (49 of 106) and 68.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, UT Rio Grande is snagging 35.3 rebounds per game and has accumulated 74 assists for the year, which ranks 149th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 11.8 times per game and as a team they are committing 19.8 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Vaqueros have forced 14.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 14.5 fouls. They give up 37.6% from 3-point land and they rank 242nd in the nation in opponents points per game (76.5). The Vaqueros are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.6% (105 of 241) and they concede 35.8 rebounds per game as a group. They currently rank 176th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 60 conceded this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini took a loss by a final score of 90-86 against Alabama. With respect to rebounding, Illinois permitted Alabama to collect 35 overall (9 offensive). They finished 36.1% from three-point range by connecting on 13 out of 36 and walked away from this one shooting 17 out of 23 at the charity stripe (73.9%). The Fighting Illini permitted Alabama to knock down 30 out of 66 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.5% in the game. When the game finished, the Fighting Illini went 31 out of 73 from the field which had them shooting 42.5%. In relation to three-point attempts, Illinois converted 11 of their 32 attempts (34.4%). They were able to convert 13 of the free throws for a percentage of 59.1%. Alabama earned 25 fouls in this matchup which got the Fighting Illini to the charity stripe for a total of 22 attempts. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while recording 7 steals for the game. The Fighting Illini were able to corral 21 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 33 for this contest.

Andrej Stojakovic ended up being a factor for the Fighting Illini in this contest. He knocked down 11 of 16 for this game for a rate of 68.8%, and accounted for 3 rebounds. He scored 26 points in his 30 mins of playing time, but didn't record an assist.

Illinois has a win-loss record of 4-1 this season. As an offense, the Fighting Illini are shooting 47.8% from the floor, which ranks them 103rd in D-1. Illinois has accumulated 477 pts on the campaign (95.4 per game) and they average 47.0 rebounds per contest. They are getting an assist 14.4 times per contest (208th in college hoops) and they cough up possession 10.0 times per contest. The Fighting Illini commit 13.2 personal fouls every game and they go 75.6% from the charity stripe.

The Illinois defense gives up 28.6% on 3-point shots (38 of 133) and opponents are converting on 79.0% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 12.4 dimes and 29.2 total boards per game, which is ranked 141st and 29th in the country. The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 155th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 71.4. They are able to force 8.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.5% from the field (118th in college).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UT Rio Grande

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