Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Illinois Prediction, Men's College Basketball Odds & Best Bets (11/2)

Fact checked at 8:48 AM ET, Nov 2, 2026

Odds as of 8:46 AM ET, Nov 2, 2026

No. 3 Illinois opens its season against Fairleigh Dickinson at 8:00 PM ET at State Farm Center in Champaign (Big Ten Network), and it does so without preseason All-American David Mirkovic. Illinois is a 37.5-point favorite and the total is 153.5. We think Illinois still gets into the 90s, but a group with two freshmen in its projected starting five won't keep FDU much below 60. Something like 96-60 is the game we expect, and both picks need the same thing from it: FDU scoring around 60. That puts us on the Knights with the points and on the Over.

Both teams are opening their seasons. FDU has 10 newcomers, and most of what follows leans on last season's results from rosters that have since changed.

Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Illinois Predictions

• Pick #1: Fairleigh Dickinson +37.5 (-108)
• Pick #2: Over 153.5 (-112)

PICK #1: Fairleigh Dickinson +37.5 (-108)

FDU played five high-major teams last season, and only one of them beat it by more than 37.5. The Knights lost 88-50 at Iowa State, 93-58 at Texas, 94-64 at Providence, 72-61 at Boston College and 60-43 at Minnesota. Only six players are back from that 11-21 team, so it's a rough guide, but this program hasn't tended to fall apart on the road.

Illinois, meanwhile, is without the player its offense runs through. Mirkovic, a 6-foot-9 point forward, had an emergency appendectomy while he was still recovering from offseason foot surgery, and coach Brad Underwood said he won't be in uniform. Freshmen Quentin Coleman and Ethan Brown are expected to start next to Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic and Jake Davis. Underwood said Stojakovic and Zvonimir Ivisic, who missed the last exhibition in concussion protocol, will play, and freshman wing Lincoln Williams is questionable. One preseason rating had Illinois by 34 before any line was posted.

The -108 price asks for a 51.9% chance. Underwood's openers are the worry: he's 9-0 in them, and the last two finished 112-67 and 113-55. Illinois also has a deep bench, so its reserves can keep stretching the lead late, and that kind of garbage time can go either way. Three of Illinois' six home games against low-major teams last season ended with a margin bigger than 37.5.

PICK #2: Over 153.5 (-112)

A game where FDU stays inside the number is also a game that goes over. At home against low-major teams last season, Illinois scored 113, 113, 84, 98, 87 and 90, and four of those six games went past 153.5. The opponent got to 58 or more in four of them, which is about what FDU needs. The 2023 meeting between these two ended 104-71.

Illinois scored 101 against UIC in its last exhibition without Stojakovic and Zvonimir Ivisic, though exhibitions don't count for much. "Everybody's got to do more," Tomislav Ivisic said about playing without Mirkovic. On FDU's side, graduate transfer JR Jacobs averaged 13.4 points at the Division II level, and junior guard Vophcy Prophete averaged 15.8 points and made 39.5% of his threes in junior college.

At -112 the implied chance is 52.8%. What can sink this is FDU's offense. The Knights averaged 67.2 points last season, but in those five high-major games they never scored more than 64, and only the Providence game got past 153.5. If FDU is stuck in the low 50s, the Over falls short.

21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.