Before the season started, Duke and Illinois agreed to a rare non-conference matchup in late February. It proved to be the right call for Duke, dominating all of the ACC outside of a road upset loss at Clemson, one of two other ranked teams in the league (Louisville). They’ve since won three straight games by 18+ points, including the last road win at Virginia.
Illinois, on the other hand, was ranked as high as No. 13 in the nation before going 5-7 in the last month. They’ve lost their last two games, falling to Michigan State and Wisconsin.
H2 How to watch Illinois vs. Duke
Date: Saturday, February 22
Time:8 p.m. ET
Venue: Madison Square Garden
How to Watch (TV): FOX
Streaming: fubo TV (link:)
Illinois record: 17-10
Duke record: 23-3
Illinois vs. Duke odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook (link:)
Moneyline
Illinois (+385)
Duke (-520)
Spread
Illinois +9.5 (+105)
Duke - 9.5 (-115)
Total 152.5 (over -110, under -110)
Illinois injury report
Morez Johnson, F: Out (wrist)
Duke injury report
Maliq Brown, F: Out (knee)
Duke and Illinois North Carolina series history
Duke's all-time record vs. Illinois: 5-3
Illinois vs. Duke prediction
This game features several freshmen who are likely future first-round NBA Draft picks. Duke is led by projected No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg (19.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, and 4.0 apg), along with Kon Knueppel (13.2 ppg). Even without Maliq Brown available, former 5-star prospect Khaman Maluach is one of the top defenders in the nation, while guards Tyrese Proctor and Sion James are averaging around 20 ppg in the backcourt.
Illinois counters with Kasparas Jakucionis, white leads the team with 15.6 ppg and 4.8 apg. 6’8 wing Will Riley (11.9 ppg) is capable of going for 20+ points in any game, while Tre White, Kylan Boswell and Ben Humrichous are the role players to watch if they’re going to have any chance at the neutral site upset.
Duke is, by all accounts, one of the three best defenses in college basketball. Illinois has an offense that can explode, but they’re very reliant on three-point shots. If they can’t get any to go, they’re going to have a rough time scoring enough to get the win. The Illini are talented than most ACC teams but based on how they’re playing, they don’t have enough to pull off the upset.