How to Watch Illinois vs. Rutgers
Game Time: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
TV Channel: BTN
Online Streaming: FoxSportsGO
Odds: N/A (Illinois 96.8% Chance To Win – ESPN Matchup Predictor)
Quick Hits:
Illinois Fighting Illini (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Brad Underwood (9th season)
Last Game: Illinois 73, Penn State 65
Gameday Reading:
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-7, 0-3 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Steve Pikiell (10th season)
Best Win?: Rutgers 80, UNLV 65 (Nov. 27)
What Happened the Last Time These Two Teams Played?
- Illinois leads the all-time series 13-5.
Feb. 5, 2025: Rutgers 82, Illinois 73
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — It just wouldn’t be Illinois sports without an emotional push and pull, right?
In a game where Illinois started slow, played their best and then finished slow, the Illini fell
82-73 to Rutgers. The loss is Illinois’ worst in the NET rankings this season.
The win over the Illini (15-8, 7-6 Big Ten) is the first victory over a ranked opponents for the Scarlet Knights (12-11, 5-7 Big Ten) this season.
If you tuned in midway through the second half, you might have trouble believing that Illinois was being steamrolled early to start this game.
The game began slow for Illinois. Despite entering Wednesday as the nation’s best rebounding team in the nation, weakness in that area combined with shooting woes and a concerning level of ball security saw the Illini fall behind early.
In a game that fielded four players who are expecting to hear their names called at the NBA Draft in June, injury returnee Dylan Harper shined the brightest. Harper was coming off of a high ankle sprain that had sidelined him from Rutgers’ last two games.
Paired with him was his red-hot running mate Ace Bailey, who had ten points in the first ten minutes to create a huge early advantage for the hosts.
In a game where Kasparas Jakucionis continued to struggle on the offensive end, Will Riley took over the reigns for a second straight game, scoring a team-high 20 points. 13 of those points came in the second half, where Illinois worked its way back to seize the lead after trailing by as many as 17.
Once the Illini did start to get back into the game, it came thanks to the Scarlet Knights hitting a brick wall themselves. A three-minute stretch in the mid-to-late first half saw the hosts go 1-for-8 on field goals, which gave Illinois a 48-47 lead, its first advantage since leading 2-0 to open the evening.
