Illinois vs. Houston prediction, odds, spread, time: 2026 NCAA Tournament picks from proven model

The third-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini tackle the second-seeded Houston Cougars in a 2026 NCAA Tournament South Region Sweet 16 matchup on Thursday. Illinois is coming off a 76-55-88 last-second victory over VCU on Saturday within the second spherical, whereas Houston defeated Texas A&M 88-57 on Saturday. The Illini (26-8), who completed in second place in a three-way tie within the Big 10 Conference, have gained 4 of the final 5 video games. The Cougars (30-6), who got here in second within the Big 12, have additionally gained 4 of 5 video games.

Tipoff from Toyota Center in Houston is ready for 10:05 pm ET. The Cougars are 2.5-point favorites within the newest Illinois vs. Houston odds, whereas the over/underneath for whole factors scored is 139.5. The Coogs are at -150 on the cash line (threat $150 to win $100). Before making any Houston vs. Illinois picks, check out the Illinois vs Houston predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates each faculty basketball sport 10,000 instances. It entered the 2026 Sweet 16 on a scorching 11-1 run on its top-rated over/underneath college basketball picks courting again to final season, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB facet picks.

Now, the model has been simulated Illinois vs. Houston 10,000 instances and simply revealed its faculty basketball picks and predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are a number of college basketball odds and faculty basketball traces for Illinois vs. Houston:

Top Illinois vs. Houston predictions

After 10,000 simulations of Illinois vs. Houston, SportsLine’s model is going Over on the overall (139.5 factors). The whole has gone Over in three of Illinois final 4 video games. Houston’s final sport additionally got here in Over the overall. The Illini are 10-2 straight up of their final 12 video games performed on a Thursday.

The model tasks the Illini to have 4 gamers rating 12 factors or extra, together with Keaton Wagler, who’s projected to attain 15.7 factors. The Cougars are projected to have three gamers rating 12 factors or extra, led by Emanuel Sharp, who’s projected to attain 16.2 factors. The model is projecting 149 mixed factors because the Over clears in 74.3% of simulations. You can get the spread pick at SportsLine.

How to make Illinois vs. Houston picks

Now, the model simulated each possession of Illinois vs. Houston 10,000 instances and says one facet of the unfold hits in over 50% of simulations. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Illinois vs. Houston, and which facet of the unfold hits over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Illinois vs. Houston spread to back, all from the advanced model that just simulated this game 10,000 timesand discover out.