The No. 2 seed Iowa State Cyclones attempt to slow down Illinois' offense when they face the No. 3 seed Fighting Illini in the Sweet 16 round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Thursday. Iowa State (29-7) has reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years after posting victories against South Dakota State and Washington State. The Cyclones now take on high-scoring Illinois (28-8), which defeated Morehead State 85-69 and Duquesne 89-63 en route to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2005.

Tipoff at TD Garden in Boston is scheduled for 10:09 p.m. ET. The Cyclones are 1.5-point favorites in the latest Iowa State vs. Illinois odds via SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 146.

Before making any Illinois vs. Iowa State picks or NCAA Tournament predictions, you need to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

The model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the Sweet 16 round of the 2024 NCAA tournament on a 152-109 roll on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to last season, returning more than $1,800 for $100 players. It also has a strong 32-21 (+890) record on top-rated spread picks this season, and it called 13 Sweet 16 teams this year. Anyone following has seen HUGE returns!

The model knows Washington State gave Iowa State a tough time in the first half on Saturday as the game was tied 27-27 at halftime, but the Cyclones outscored the Cougars 40-29 over the final 20 minutes to advance. Sophomore guard Tamin Lipsey led the team with 15 points and grabbed five rebounds, while senior guard Curtis Jones came off the bench to record 14 points. Lipsey, Jones, freshman forward Milan Momcilovic and junior guard Keshon Gilbert all scored in double figures in each of Iowa State's first two Tournament games.

But the model also has taken into account that Illinois followed a 54.2% shooting performance against Morehead State in the first round with a 59.3% effort versus Duquesne. Senior guard Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the triumph over the Dukes after recording 26 points against the Eagles. Shannon, who is among the top offensive players in the nation with an average of 23.3 points, has produced at least 25 in each of his last six contests.

For Thursday, the model has set its sights on Iowa State vs. Illinois. We can tell you the model is leaning Under on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time! You ABSOLUTELY need to see the model before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Iowa State vs. Illinois, and which side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Illinois vs. Iowa State spread you should be all over Thursday, all from the model on a 32-21 roll on top-ranked college basketball spread picks!