Illinois State Redbirds vs Auburn Tigers Prediction, 4/2/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois State Redbirds vs Auburn Tigers

Date: Thursday, April 2, 2026

Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Auburn (-6)

Hinkle Fieldhouse is where the Auburn Tigers (20-16) will compete against the Illinois State Redbirds (23-12) on Thursday in the NIT Semifinals. Auburn is 6-point favorites. The betting total comes in at 148.

The Illinois State Redbirds stepped onto the hardwood against Wake Forest and took home the win by a score of 78-75 in their last contest. Concerning personal fouls, the Redbirds left the arena with 18 and Wake Forest racked up 15 personal fouls. They made 5 of their 16 tries from distance. Wake Forest walked away from this one shooting 66.7% at the free throw line by burying 14 of 21 shots. In addition, Wake Forest snagged 32 boards (7 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Wake Forest recorded 15 dimes and had 7 steals for the matchup. In relation to the defense, Illinois State allowed the other team to go 50.0% from the floor on 28 of 56 shooting. They also doled out 12 dimes in this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and having 6 steals. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned 30 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Redbirds buried 18 of 21 shots for a rate of 85.7%. Illinois State finished the contest having earned a 41.0% field goal percentage (25 out of 61) and buried 10 of 33 three-point shots.

Ty Pence is someone who was a major contributor for the matchup. He finished 72.7% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist. He was on the court for 27 minutes and also pulled down 4 boards. He accounted for 23 points on 8 out of 11 shooting.

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Illinois State will enter this matchup with a win-loss mark of 23-12 on the campaign. They average 74.9 points per game (203rd in the nation) while connecting on 46.5% from the field. The Redbirds are hitting 35.1% on shots from downtown (304 of 865) and 70.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, Illinois State is collecting 35.8 boards per game and is sitting with 477 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 138th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 11.2 times per game and as a unit they are committing 16.7 fouls per game.

On defense, the Redbirds have forced 10.8 turnovers per game while drawing 17.3 fouls. They are surrendering 31.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 39th in the country in opponents PPG (67.9). The Redbirds are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.1% (858 of 1,993) and they surrender 32.7 rebounds per contest as a team. They currently rank 190th in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 442 relinquished so far this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Auburn Tigers took home the win by a final score of 75-69 against Nevada. With respect to cleaning up the glass, Auburn allowed Nevada to get 28 in total (7 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 35.0% from behind the 3-point line by going 7 out of 20 and ended up going 12 of 17 at the charity stripe (70.6%). The Tigers permitted Nevada to convert 25 out of 54 attempts from the field which had them at 46.3% in the matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Tigers finished the game shooting 30 for 61 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.2%. Concerning shots from distance, Auburn buried 6 out of their 24 attempts (25.0%). They were able to make 9 of them for a clip of 64.3%. Nevada committed 14 fouls for the contest which took the Tigers to the free throw line for a total of 14 shots. They also turned the ball over 7 times, while earning 9 steals for this game. The Tigers corralled 18 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 26 in the matchup.

Filip Jovic ended up being a major contributor for the Tigers for the contest. He tallied 18 points in his 28 minutes of playing time and had 1 assist in this contest. He buried 9 of 12 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and had 9 rebounds.

Auburn has a record of 20-16 for the year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Tigers are shooting 45.7% from the floor, which is ranked 145th in the nation. Auburn has 2,974 pts for the campaign (82.6 per game) and they grab 36.6 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 12.8 times per game (257th in D-1) and they are turning it over 10.1 times per contest. The Tigers commit 17.1 fouls per game and they hit 74.4% from the free throw line.

The Auburn defense gives up 37.0% on shots from distance (315 of 852) and their opponents are knocking down 74.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 14.3 dimes and 32.7 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 255th and 73rd in the country. The Tigers on the defensive end are ranked 312th in D-1 in points allowed per contest with 78.9. They are able to force 11.1 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 46.4% from the floor (303rd in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Auburn (-6)

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