Can't Bet the Illini From Illinois

Licensed Illinois sports betting apps do not permit wagering on in-state college teams.  You can get around this by signing up with a sportsbook licensed outside the state but still accessible within Illinois.  Sites like BetUS have been around for more than 25 years and offer a generous welcome bonus, as much as $2500 based on deposit amount, and are available to those living in Illinois.  Remember, too, that BetUS is accessible when visiting other US states and most countries.

What to Expect in 2020

Illini Football - The Illini program gets underway October 24.

"Once again, Illinois mostly is getting picked to finish last in the Big Ten West Division, not surprising since 2019 was the first time Illinois finished higher than fifth in the division since the East-West alignment began in 2014. Once again, Wisconsin is picked to finish first in the division, not surprising given that Wisconsin has won four of six division titles since 2014.

"Still, Illinois — which returns almost its entire offense, adds several impact transfers and brings back most of its back-seven on defense — has higher expectations of itself internally. The Illini don’t see last season as a fluke and want to prove it this Friday.

“'When I saw [the spread], I was like, ‘Why are we… we’re kinda getting' … I don’t know what the right word is. But when you see that you’re like, ‘Wow, after what happened last year,’” Illinois starting quarterback Brandon Peters said. “We’re returning a lot of guys. They lost some key players. Wisconsin’s always going to have good people backed up as well. I guess we’re just going to have to go prove them wrong again.”' - 247Sports

Illini Basketball - Their odds of winning the 2021 Men's College Basketball Championship is a respectable 13-1.

This program is due to kick off play in late November.

"llinois has arguably the best one-two punch in the league with Dosunmu and Cockburn. The Illini figure to not only challenge for a Big Ten championship, but are also poised to be one of the better teams in the country. While the Illini’s defensive improvement was the story last season, its offense, though still solidly elite nationally (38th in adjusted offensive efficiency), might be the decider on how far this team goes. In conference play, the Illini finished just ninth in offensive efficiency namely because of shooting problems, as they finished 13th in effective field goal percentage (45.8) just ahead of cellar dweller Purdue (45.7). They were also the worst 2-point shooting team in league play and struggled to get to the line (13th in free throw rate). If Underwood, who in his only year at Oklahoma State coached the most efficient offense in the nation, can bring some of that spice to his emergent Illini team, a deep tournament run seems in play." - Inside The Hall