NCAA Tournament Final Four Picks: Illinois vs. UConn
The 2026 NCAA Tournament started with a field of 68 teams, and now we’re down to the Final Four. The No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini, winners of the South Region, will take on the No. 2 seed UConn Huskies, winners of the East Region. That game takes place at 6:09 p.m. ET on TBS/truTV/HBO Max. At approximately 8:49 p.m. ET, the No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines, winners of the Midwest Region, take on the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats, winners of the West Region. Dive into our top NCAA Tournament Final Four picks for Illinois vs. UConn.
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Best NCAA Tournament Final Four Picks: Illinois vs. UConn
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
No. 3 Illinois Fighting Illini (-134) vs. No. 2 UConn Huskies (+112)
The Fighting Illini (28-8) and Huskies (33-5) meet in the first of the two games on Saturday night.
Illinois is in the Final Four for the sixth time in school history, and the first time since 2005. It lost 75-70 to North Carolina in St. Louis on April 4th, 2005 in the National Championship game. The Fighting Illini have never won the tournament.
UConn is making its eighth appearance in the Final Four, and it has won the National Championship six times, including back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.
These teams met earlier this season on November 28th at Madison Square Garden in New York City, with UConn posting a 74-61 victory as a 4.5-point favorite, as the under (151.5) cashed.
Kylan Boswell went for 25 points, nine rebounds and three assists with two three-pointers in the loss, while Tomislav Ivisic ended up with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.
For UConn, Solo Ball went for 15 points with five rebounds and two steals while hitting a pair of triples, while Alex Karaban ended up with 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal.
Illinois has caught fire at the right time, winning and covering all four NCAA Tournament games, while cashing the under in each of the past three games. They have allowed 59 or fewer points in each of the previous three games against VCU, Houston and Iowa.
UConn edged Duke 73-72 as a 4.5-point underdog in the Elite 8, as the over (134.5) cashed, and they’re 3-0 against the spread (ATS) in the past three games since failing to cover in the first round against No. 15 Furman as a 20.5-point favorite. The Huskies are 5-2 ATS in seven postseason games, while the under is 4-2 in the past six games and 7-4 in the last 11 games.
It’s rather surprising to see coach Dan Hurley’s team as slight underdogs against the Fighting Illini, a team that has never won the National Championship.
The Huskies have the recent history and experience of two titles, and they just bumped off No. 1 seed Duke. Let’s take UConn on the Moneyline as a slight underdog. And we’ll go low on the total. Illinois has played good defense, and UConn has allowed 72 or fewer points in 11 consecutive outings.
Picks: UConn Moneyline (+112) & Under 139.5 Points (-108)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe.