Illinois
Wisconsin Badgers vs. Illinois Fighting Illini odds, picks and predictions
The No. 23 Wisconsin Badgers (23-9) and No. 9 Illinois Fighting Illini (24-7) meet Friday in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Tip from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, is set for 2:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NCAA basketball odds around the Wisconsin vs. Illinois odds and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions for the best bets.
The Badgers beat the Washington Huskies in the third round of the tournament 85-82 Thursday, but failed to cover as a 6.5-point neutral-court favorite as the Over (156.5) cashed. Wisconsin won its last 3 games of the regular season, beating the No. 18 Purdue Boilermakers 97-93 on the road to close it out. The Badgers are 3-1 against the spread (ATS) across their last 4 games and 18-13 ATS this season.
Illinois ended the regular season by taking down the Maryland Terrapins 78-72 Sunday, failing to cover as a 15.5-point road favorite with the Over (145.5) hitting. The Fighting Illini have had abnormal struggles over the last several weeks, going 4-4 over their previous 8 games and just 3-5 ATS in that span. The No. 4 seed in the tournament is 17-14 ATS on the season.
Wisconsin besat Illinois 92-90 in overtime Feb. 10 in Champaign.
– Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
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Wisconsin vs. Illinois odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 9:33 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Wisconsin +260 (bet $100 to win $260) | Illinois -325 (bet $325 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Wisconsin +8.5 (-118) | Illinois -8.5 (-102)
- Over/Under (O/U): 155.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Wisconsin vs. Illinois picks and predictions
Prediction
Illinois 83, Wisconsin 77
PASS.
Avoid this play. Illinois (-325) should win, but it isn’t worth nearly more than 3 times your money here. Pass on this wager.
BET WISCONSIN +8.5 (-118).
The Badgers have been surging, especially on the offensive end. They have scored at least 78 points in 4 straight games. Wisconsin has been solid as an underdog as well, going 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games in that position.
As noted, the Fighting Illini have had recent struggles, and it is because their offense has stalled. They’ve failed to top 80 points in 3 straight games and are just 1-2 ATS in their last 3 games when favored.
BET OVER 154.5 (-110).
The Fighting Illini are a proven side and should be rested and ready to score. They are 3-2 O/U in their previous 5 games, allowing at least 84 points in 2 of their previous 4 contests.
Wisconsin has gone Over in 5 of its previous 6 games and has allowed at least 80 points in half of those. The Badgers are 19-12 O/U so far this season.
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CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker had some harsh words for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday, exposing the deep divide between the two leaders over the future of the Chicago Bears.
It comes as the legislature heads into the final two weeks of the session with still no deal on a bill to enable the team to move to Arlington Heights.
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Pritzker favors helping the Bears move to Arlington Heights rather than losing them to Hammond, Indiana. But Johnson insists that the best thing for the Bears is to stay in Chicago. In his strongest words yet, the governor dismissed that notion.
“He has no plan. There’s no plan,” Pritzker said.
While speaking to reporters on Monday, Pritzker called Johnson out for continuing to push for the Bears to stay at Soldier Field despite the team repeatedly making it clear that if they are going to stay in Illinois, it will be in Arlington Heights at the former racetrack property the team owns. If it is not there, they will pursue the offer from Indiana to build a stadium in Hammond.
As lawmakers consider a so-called megaprojects bill that would give the Bears a property tax break on a new stadium in Arlington Heights, the governor was frustrated by Johnson’s Chicago push.
“I know that the mayor has no plan. He has come up with no plan at all about how the Bears would end up in the city of Chicago. So, that’s problematic. I’d love them to be in the city, but we’re three years in now, and he still has no plan,” Pritzker said.
The mayor’s office responded, saying, in part, “The City’s proposal remains the only plan centered on public ownership alongside a funding mechanism that does not burden property taxpayers while keeping the Bears in Chicago.”
And while Johnson says he will continue to work with stakeholders to keep the Bears where they are, the governor took another swipe related to budget requests, suggesting significant Chicago and Springfield communication problems.
“Again, we’ve seen almost nothing out of the mayoral administration here on that subject, or really any other. And so, to show up in May and have a bunch of demands seems like late in the game, and it’s unfortunate that’s happened most years,” Pritzker said.
Meanwhile, there are concerns about infrastructure needs around the Arlington Heights property. Particularly, roads and major interchanges would need upgrades. The concerns prompted mayors from neighboring Palatine, Rolling Meadows, and Schaumburg to send letters to the governor and leading lawmakers requesting a seat at the table over those plans.
“We’re very concerned about, how is all this traffic when you’re dealing with 60,000-70,000 people that are going to be either for a Bears game or a concert or some other event that’s there? How are they going to get around?” said Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly.
While the stadium politics continue to play out in Illinois, the Bears are planning to provide the NFL with an update on their future plans at the league’s meeting on Tuesday in Orlando.
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A fire at the vacant old Balmoral Park racetrack in Crete, Illinois, sent smoke billowing over several south Chicago suburbs Sunday morning.
Around 6:30 a.m., flames raced through the structures on the old racetrack grounds. Fire departments from several suburbs, as well as Northwest Indiana, were called in to help.
Balmoral Park dates back to 1926, when it opened as Lincoln Fields. The racetrack hosted both thoroughbred and harness races over the years.
A fire also damaged the grandstand at the racetrack during renovations in 1952, forcing the races for the 1952-53 season to move to Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney. Balmoral in turn picked up some races in 1986 after a fire destroyed the grandstand at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights the summer before.
Balmoral Park was hosting only harness racing when it closed at the end of 2015. The property was purchased the following year by Horse Shows In The Sun as a hunter-jumper horse show venue, but this only lasted a few years and the property has stood vacant ever since, reports noted.
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