Illinois vs. Iowa Dunkel Predictions & Vegas Odds - Elite Eight

The No. 3 seed Illinois Fighting Illini (27-8, 15-5 Big Ten) are 6.5-point favorites to advance to the Final Four when they match up with the No. 9 seed Iowa Hawkeyes (24-12, 10-10 Big Ten) in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight on Saturday at Toyota Center, airing on TBS beginning at 6:09 p.m. ET. The point total in the matchup is 137.5.

Illinois won its last outing 65-55 against Houston on Thursday. David Mirkovic totaled 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists for Illinois. Iowa is coming off of a 77-71 victory against Nebraska in its most recent game on Thursday. In Iowa's win, Bennett Stirtz led the way with 20 points (adding two rebounds and four assists).

Illinois vs. Iowa Odds and Game Time

• When: Saturday, March 28, 2026 at 6:09 p.m. ET
• Where: Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
• Spread favorite: Illinois -6.5
• Moneyline favorite: Illinois -321
• Moneyline underdog: Iowa +248
• Over/Under: 137.5 points

How to watch Illinois vs. Iowa

• TV Channel: TBS
• Check out the rest of our Dunkel Index NCAA Basketball Picks!

Betting the Over/Under: Illinois vs. Iowa

• This season, Illinois' games have seen a combined score higher than this matchup's 137.5-point total 27 times.
• In Iowa's 36 games this season, 23 finished with more combined points than Saturday's over/under of 137.5.
• Together, the two teams combine for 159.2 points per game, 21.7 points more than the over/under of 137.5 for this contest.
• The 135.1 points per game these two teams surrender to opponents combined this season are 2.4 less than the 137.5-point total in this contest.
• This season, the average over/under for Illinois' games is 153.1 points, 15.6 more than the total of 137.5 points set for this contest.
• Iowa's games have an average over/under of 141.1 points this season, 3.6 more points than the over/under for this contest.

Betting the Spread: Illinois vs. Iowa

• In Illinois' 35 games this season, it has 21 wins against the spread.
• The Fighting Illini have been favored by 6.5 points or more 24 times this season and are 14-10 ATS in those contests.
• Against the spread, Iowa is 21-15-0 this year.
• The Hawkeyes have an against the spread record of 4-0 in their four games as an underdog of 6.5 points or more this season.
• Illinois is 14-3 overall, and 10-7 against the spread, at home.
• Illinois is 9-6 ATS as a 6.5-point favorite or greater at home.
• Away from home, Iowa is 5-6 against the spread, and 3-8 overall.
• Iowa has one win ATS (1-2) on the road as 6.5-point underdogs or more.

Betting the Moneyline: Illinois vs. Iowa

• Illinois has won 23, or 82.1%, of the 28 games it has played as the moneyline favorite this season.
• The Fighting Illini have entered 23 games this season favored by -321 or more and are 20-3 in those contests.
• Oddsmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that Illinois has a 76.2% chance to win.
• Iowa has been victorious in three, or 25%, of the 12 contests it has been chosen as a moneyline underdog in this season.
• The Hawkeyes have a win-loss record of 1-3 with odds of +248 or worse this year.
• Iowa has an implied victory probability of 28.7% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.