Washington Huskies vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 1/29/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington Huskies vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Illinois Fighting Illini (17-3) are welcoming the Washington Huskies (11-9) at State Farm Center on Thursday.

The Washington Huskies stepped onto the hardwood against Oregon and took home the win by a score of 72-57 in their last game. In relation to fouls, the Huskies left the arena with 18 and Oregon recorded 12 fouls. They also made 3 of 15 attempts from distance. Oregon finished 85.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 24 of 28 attempts. Furthermore, Oregon snagged 23 rebounds (1 offensive, 22 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Oregon doled out 4 dimes and had 8 steals in this game. When talking about defense, Washington allowed the other team to shoot 35.7% from the field on 15 of 42 shooting. They also doled out 15 assists for the game in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and having 10 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 42 with 18 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Huskies buried 8 of their 13 shots for a percentage of 61.5%. Washington ended the game with a 41.5% field goal percentage (27 out of 65) and knocked down 10 of their 21 shots from 3-point land.

Jacob Ognacevic is one guy who came through for the game. He finished 80.0% from the field and also recorded 1 assist. He played for 24 minutes played and also snagged 2 boards. He left the arena with 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting.

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Washington will play this game with a mark of 11-9 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 79.0 pts per contest (131st in D-1) while connecting on 44.9% from the field. The Huskies are shooting 31.4% on three-point shots (133 of 423) and 77.1% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Washington is grabbing 38.3 rebounds per contest and has totaled 278 dimes so far this year, which ranks 226th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 10.6 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.3 fouls every game.

On defense, the Huskies are forcing their opponents into 10.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.9 personal fouls. They surrender 31.7% on shots from distance and they are 178th in Division 1 in opponents points per game (73.3). The Huskies are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 43.3% (521 of 1,203) and they relinquish 33.5 rebounds per game as a group. They are currently ranked 133rd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 260 conceded so far this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini got the win with a final of 88-82 against Purdue. The Fighting Illini collected 20 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 10 times, but didn't notch a steal. Purdue earned 17 fouls for this game which took the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 22 attempts. They were able to make 16 of the free throws for a percentage of 72.7%. In relation to three-point attempts, Illinois buried 18 of 38 tries (47.4%). When the game finished, the Fighting Illini finished the game shooting 27 out of 56 from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.2%. The Fighting Illini allowed Purdue to convert 33 of their 58 tries from the floor which had them at 56.9% in the game. They shot 36.8% from three-point range by shooting 7 of 19 and ended up going 9 of 11 from the charity stripe (81.8%). When it comes to how they cleaned up the glass, Illinois permitted Purdue to collect 19 in all (3 on the offensive side).

Keaton Wagler ended up being a factor for the Fighting Illini for this contest. He earned 46 points in his 39 mins on the hardwood and had 4 assists in this contest. He buried 13 of 17 for this contest for a rate of 76.5%, but wasn't able to snag a rebound.

Illinois has a win-loss record of 17-3 on the year. The Fighting Illini are responsible for committing 13.0 personal fouls per game while shooting 79.4% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.6 times per game (162nd in college hoops) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 9.7 times per contest. Illinois has scored 1,709 pts on the year (85.5 per contest) and they grab 41.6 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Fighting Illini are hitting on 47.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 85th in college hoops.

The Fighting Illini defensively are ranked 52nd in college in points given up per game with 68.3. They are able to force 7.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 40.4% from the field (33rd in the country). The Illinois defense allows 31.6% on shots from beyond the arc (164 of 519) and their opponents are connecting on 69.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 12.8 dimes and 30.4 boards on a nightly basis, which is 132nd and 13th in the nation.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Washington

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