Illinois Fighting Illini vs USC Trojans Prediction, 2/18/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs USC Trojans

Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Location: Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN+

The USC Trojans (18-7) welcome the Illinois Fighting Illini (21-5) at Galen Center on Wednesday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini played Indiana and took home the win by a score of 71-51 in their last contest. Concerning personal fouls, the Fighting Illini walked away with 10 and Indiana recorded 10 personal fouls. They also buried 6 out of their 24 attempts from long range. Indiana finished the contest at 83.3% at the free throw line by converting 5 of 6 tries. In addition, Indiana snagged 22 rebounds (2 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Indiana distributed 10 dimes and had 1 steal for the contest. With regard to the defense, Illinois let their opponent shoot 40.8% from the field on 20 out of 49 shooting. They also dished out 11 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In the matter of hauling in rebounds, they collected 36 with 15 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Fighting Illini buried 6 of their 7 attempts for a rate of 85.7%. Illinois finished the contest having earned a 43.9% field goal percentage (29 of 66) and knocked down 7 of 31 three-point attempts.

David Mirkovic is a player who was a factor in this contest. He finished the contest at 62.5% from the floor and totaled 3 dimes. He played for 37 mins and collected 7 rebounds. He accumulated 25 points on 10 out of 16 shooting.

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Illinois heads into this game with a win-loss record of 21-5 this year. They average 84.2 pts per game (32nd in college hoops) while going 46.5% from the field. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 35.6% on shots from 3-point land (290 of 815) and 78.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Illinois is collecting 41.2 boards per game and is sitting with 378 assists so far this year, which is 148th in college in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 9.1 times per game and as a team are committing 12.8 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Fighting Illini are forcing their opponents into 7.6 turnovers per game while drawing 18.9 fouls. They are relinquishing 31.8% from beyond the arc and they rank 49th in college in opponents PPG (68.2). The Fighting Illini are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 40.4% (667 of 1,650) and they relinquish 30.8 rebounds per game as a squad. They currently rank 157th in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 340 relinquished this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the USC Trojans took a loss by a final score of 89-82 against Ohio State. The Trojans pulled down 16 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 25 in this game. They turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 11 steals for this game. Ohio State had 21 fouls in this matchup which got the Trojans to the charity stripe for 33 shots. They were able to knock down 24 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 72.7%. In regard to shots from beyond the arc, USC converted 6 of 17 tries (35.3%). When this game wrapped up, the Trojans finished shooting 26 for 62 from the floor which had them sitting at 41.9%. The Trojans allowed Ohio State to make 29 of 58 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0% in this matchup. They went 31.8% from 3-point land by connecting on 7 of 22 and ended up going 24 out of 25 at the free throw line (96.0%). In the matter of rebounding, USC allowed Ohio State to get 27 in total (5 offensive).

Alijah Arenas was important for the Trojans for the contest. He earned 25 points in his 36 mins on the court and had 3 assists for the game. He knocked down 6 of 19 for the game for a field goal rate of 31.6%, and totaled 4 rebounds.

USC has a mark of 18-7 on the year. The Trojans are responsible for committing 19.0 personal fouls every game and they connect on 71.9% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 15.3 times per game (106th in college) and they are giving up possession 12.6 times per game. USC has totaled 2,032 points for the campaign (81.3 per game) and they pull down 37.3 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Trojans are hitting on 46.9% from the field, which has them ranked 87th in the country.

The Trojans on the defensive side of the court are 237th in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 75.8. They have forced 12.5 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.1% from the field (76th in Division 1). The USC defense gives up 30.4% on 3-pointers (196 of 644) and their opponents are converting on 76.7% of their free throw shots. They give up 14.0 assists and 33.2 rebounds per contest, which ranks 236th and 108th in college.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois

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