The Wisconsin Badgers are back at home to take on the No. 21 Illinois Fighting Illini. It's another ranked opponent on a season that has been full of them. If you're curious, this is the seventh time Wisconsin has taken on an actively ranked opponent. It's also the 5th in a row. They were able to take down the No. 23 Washington Huskies two weeks ago at home.
It's not going to be easy, but the odds aren't as bad as you'd think, and the game could end up being another all-timer like the Husky vs. Badger game ended up being. Let's look at the final odds and give a final score prediction.
Final Odds for Wisconsin vs. Illinois: 8.5 Illini
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According to FanDuel, the final odds land with Wisconsin being the 8.5 underdog to Illinois. It's moved around a bit over the last week, but mostly has hovered around 8.5 to 9.5. The over/under is now 42.5, and the moneylines are -340 for Illinois and +275 for Wisconsin.
If you take the 8.5 spread and the 42.5 over/under, you can actually get a Vegas score prediction. With these two odds, the final score predicted by Vegas is Illinois 26 to Wisconsin 17. Which actually feels about right. Like the last few weeks, though, I think Wisconsin finds a way to cover.
Final score prediction: Illinois 24 Wisconsin 17
The final score that we will go with is 24-17. There could be a surprise in there, and it is a winnable game, but it's not going to be easy. If Wisconsin wins it, the score will be way more chaotic than this. It'll look like the Washington vs. Wisconsin score, like 16-13 or something. However, in a realistic world, it feels like 24-17.