The Colgate Raiders take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in Champaign, IL. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET on B1G+.
Illinois is favored by -30.5 points on the spread, and the total is set at 163.5 points.
Here’s my Colgate vs. Illinois prediction and college basketball picks for November 14, 2025.
Colgate vs Illinois Prediction
My Pick: Colgate +30.5 (Play to +26)
My Colgate vs Illinois best bet is on the Raiders to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Colgate vs. Illinois Odds
| Colgate Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+30.5 -110 | 163.5 -110 / -110 | OFF |
| Illinois Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-30.5 -110 | 163.5 -110 / -110 | OFF |
- Colgate vs Illinois spread: Illinois -30.5
- Colgate vs Illinois over/under: 163.5 points
Colgate vs Illinois College Basketball Betting Preview
Colgate Basketball
Colgate enters its toughest test of the season fresh off its first victory of the year. Matt Langel's Raiders have become one of the more successful mid-major programs in America, and a team unafraid to test itself in non-conference play.
Colgate opened the campaign with an 11-point loss at Michigan State (a comfortable cover) before falling at home to Northeastern. The Raiders then bounced back against Drexel on Tuesday, earning their first win of the season.
Preseason All-Patriot League guard Jalen Cox has lived up to expectations thus far, averaging 15 points, six rebounds and six assists per game. But the pleasant surprise alongside him has been junior forward Sam Wright, who leads Colgate in scoring with 18.3 points per game.
Both Cox and Wright have played two seasons each at Colgate heading into this year, and they've played in plenty of games like this.
In addition to the cover at Michigan State to open the year, the Raiders held up well in big non-conference contests last season, losing to Syracuse by just two points on the road and falling to Kentucky by 11 a month later.
For added excitement, former Colgate assistant coach Camryn Crocker, who served as a "defensive coordinator" of sorts for the last three seasons, left the Raiders' program this summer to join Brad Underwood's staff at Illinois.
Some familiar faces on both sides should make this one interesting.
Illinois Basketball
In the short time that Crocker has been with the program, Illinois has exceeded all reasonable expectations. Despite serious injury issues all offseason, the Illini have opened the season in style, starting with three consecutive wins and rising all the way up to fourth nationally on KenPom.
The Illini are enormous, ranking second in average height, as a team, nationally. Even without star center Tomislav Ivisic, who missed the game against Texas Tech and will be out again for this game, his brother Zvonimir has stepped in admirably to alter shots at the rim.
Illinois ranks within the top 25 in both offensive and defensive rebounding and should dominate a much smaller Colgate team that only rebounded three of its misses against Michigan State.
While the positional size and strength of the Illinois roster bodes well over the course of the season, it's also been fortunate to shoot the lights out through three games.
Five of the Illini's top six rotation players are shooting at least 38% or better from 3. And while they all project as positive shooters on the year, many of these pieces are returnees from the group that ranked 305th nationally in 3-point shooting last season.
It won't be a surprise to see a cold shooting night for the first time this season. And against a Colgate team that can control tempo and hang around in games it's out-talented in, that game script wouldn't be a surprise at all.
Colgate vs. Illinois Betting Analysis
Spot-wise, this is treacherous for Illinois. Not only do Colgate and Langel have a proven track record of performing well against the spread in big games, but Illinois is caught in a classic sandwich spot.
Fresh off of an emotional victory on Tuesday night over Texas Tech, and one game before its first road trip to take on Alabama, Colgate looms as an opponent that'll be harder to put away than most expect.
Illinois is due for some moderate shooting regression, and if that happens, expect Colgate (and Crocker's buddies from his former program) to be a tough out.
My Pick: Colgate +30.5 (Play to +26)
