Wisconsin Badgers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 3/13/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wisconsin Badgers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Friday, March 13, 2026

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Wisconsin (+9)

The Wisconsin Badgers (22-9) are on their way to United Center on Friday where they will take on the Illinois Fighting Illini (24-7) in the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois opens this matchup as 9-point favorites. The over/under is set at 155.

The Wisconsin Badgers played Purdue and notched a win by a score of 97-93 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Badgers finished with 19 while Purdue recorded 18 fouls. They converted 11 out of their 25 shots from 3-point land. Purdue finished the contest at 73.7% from the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of their 19 shots. In addition, Purdue snagged 29 rebounds (12 offensive, 17 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Purdue dished out 20 dimes and had 5 steals for the game. In the matter of defending, Wisconsin allowed their opponent to shoot 50.7% from the floor on 34 of 67 shooting. They also doled out 19 assists for this game while forcing the opposition into 7 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In relation to rebounding, they collected 17 with 4 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Badgers converted 21 of their 24 attempts for a rate of 87.5%. Wisconsin finished having earned a 55.8% FG percentage (29 out of 52) and converted 18 out of their 34 3-point attempts.

John Blackwell is a guy who was a major factor in the matchup. He finished with 25 points on 7 out of 13 shooting. He played 38 mins and also collected 4 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 53.8% from the field and dished out 1 assist.

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Wisconsin heads into this game with a record of 22-9 this season. They are turning it over 9.0 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.2 fouls per contest. As a unit, Wisconsin is grabbing 35.9 rebounds per game and has tallied 493 dimes this season, which is 92nd in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Badgers are shooting 36.3% on shots from distance (359 of 990) and 78.2% from the free throw line. They have an average of 83.3 points per game (35th in Division 1) while hitting 45.3% from the field.

Defensively, the Badgers are forcing their opponents into 10.2 turnovers per game and they draw 17.6 fouls. They currently rank 164th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 416 relinquished this season. The Badgers are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.5% (833 of 1,871) and they surrender 34.2 rebounds per game as a squad. They are surrendering 33.6% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 230th in the country in opponents PPG (75.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home victorious with a score of 78-72 when they faced Maryland. In the matter of how they rebounded, Illinois permitted Maryland to grab 23 in total (6 offensive). They finished shooting 30.0% from 3-point land by going 9 out of 30 and walked away from this one shooting 11 out of 15 at the free throw line (73.3%). The Fighting Illini permitted Maryland to make 26 of their 56 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.4% for this contest. When the game finished, the Fighting Illini ended up shooting 26 for 55 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.3%. In regard to 3-point attempts, Illinois knocked down 5 of 24 tries (20.8%). They were able to make 21 of those for a percentage of 80.8%. Maryland had 20 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for 26 attempts. They also coughed it up 7 times, while getting 5 steals in this contest. The Fighting Illini were able to corral 18 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards for a total of 27 for this contest.

David Mirkovic was important for the Fighting Illini for the game. He knocked down 9 out of 13 for the contest giving him a rate of 69.2%, and totaled 11 rebounds. He recorded 22 points in his 36 mins on the hardwood and accumulated 3 dimes in this matchup.

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Illinois has a win-loss mark of 24-7 for the campaign. The Fighting Illini are responsible for committing 13.1 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 79.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.6 times per game (126th in college) and they cough up possession 9.0 times per contest. Illinois has earned 2,612 points on the campaign (84.3 per game) and they average 40.8 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 46.1% from the floor, which is ranked 126th in D-1.

The Fighting Illini on defense are ranked 59th in college in PPG allowed with 69.1. They are able to force 7.8 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.0% from the field (35th in college hoops). The Illinois defense concedes 31.7% on 3-point attempts (258 of 813) and opponents are knocking down 72.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 13.2 dimes and 30.9 boards on a nightly basis, ranking them 172nd and 20th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Wisconsin (+9)

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