Penn Quakers vs Illinois Fighting Illini: NCAA Tournament First Round Odds, Spread, and Total
The Ivy League postseason remains the most unpredictable watch in the month of March, with all due respect to March Madness itself. Penn’s unlikely championship gives the Quakers only their…
The Ivy League postseason remains the most unpredictable watch in the month of March, with all due respect to March Madness itself. Penn's unlikely championship gives the Quakers only their second NCAA Tournament bid since 2007 and a No. 14 seed in the 2026 tournament's South bracket. Penn will square off with the No. 3-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini in a first-round contest Thursday night at 9:25 p.m. EST.
Pennsylvania is one of the few teams in NCAA lore to have reached the Big Dance via consecutive wins in overtime. Penn survived a grudging semifinal game versus Harvard to win 62-60 in OT, powered by junior forward TJ Power's double-double. No one dreamed that Power would follow that up via the game of his career against Yale, leading the 88-84 OT title conquest with an astounding 44 points and seven treys.
Illinois' conference postseason was hardly as dramatic as Penn's, though it did involve OT. The Fighting Illini lost their only game of the Big Ten Tournament 91-88 to Wisconsin after a single overtime. That loss did little to diminish the No. 3 seed's power in the NCAA committee's eyes. Illinois has just four losses in regulation time in nine matchups against Top 25 teams this season. Freshman guard Keaton Wagler paces the Illini with 17.9 points per game, yet it's freshman David Mirkovic's frontcourt that really stands out.
Spread
- Fighting Illini -25 (-113)
- Quakers +25 (-101)
Money line
- Fighting Illini -3633
- Quakers +2475
Total
- Over 152 (-101)
- Under 152 (-109)
Note: The above data was collected on March 19, 2026, and may have changed since writing.
Penn Quakers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Betting Trends
- Pennsylvania has lost 15 of its last 16 NCAA Tournament contests.
- Penn has averaged just 54.6 points in its last three March Madness games.
- The Illinois Fighting Illini are in a 4-5 slump after starting the season 20-3.
Penn Quakers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Injury Reports
Penn Quakers
- Forward Ethan Roberts is out with concussion symptoms.
- Guard Dylan Williams is questionable with an undisclosed injury.
- Utility player Ryan Altman is questionable with an undisclosed injury.
Illinois Fighting Illini
- Center Jayson Jakstys is out with an undisclosed injury.
- Guard Ty Rodgers is questionable with a knee injury.
Penn Quakers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Predictions and Picks
Penn has had a tough time scoring at the NCAA tourney, an average of 54.6 points in the Quakers' last three efforts, contributing to the program's losing streak in March Madness. It doesn't help that senior Ethan Roberts, this season's linchpin for the Penn offense, is out with a concussion. But as if to demonstrate that Roberts' absence wasn't a disaster, Penn won its league championship without him.
Illinois' recent frustrations make the Fighting Illini's wide point spread for Thursday look as bloated as a spring football roster. The No. 13 nationally ranked Illini are 24-8 overall after starting the campaign 20-3 and ranking in the AP's top 10. Wagler got banged up during the Big Ten tournament. Jackson Langendorf of Sports Illustrated calls the rookie "unflappable" while cautioning viewers that "March (Madness) has been anything but kind to freshman guards."
Roberts led Penn's season, but Power is powering the Quakers now. Look for Penn to bucket a surprising number of early points to help produce a relatively rare win for first-half-over picks on March Madness. Wiseguys should save a couple of additional units for a valuable wager on Penn to cover the spread.
