Thursday night I feel confident in taking Illinois to cover their spread in this one.
Look for Illinois to win and cover here for multiple reasons. Illinois is the better team overall, ranking better in both offensive and defensive efficiency according to Kenpom, and they love to play at home, boasting a 13-2 record.

In terms of gameplay, we can expect the Fighting Illini to outpace Northwestern throughout the game, gaining them more possessions and more opportunities to score. Northwestern tends to work slowly and rely heavily on its defense which will give them trouble in this one, as Illinois' defense is even better than theirs and they guard the 3-pt shot and perimeter very well and that is what NW relies on.