The Maryland Terrapins will put a five-game winning streak on the line on Friday evening with a difficult road trip within the Big Ten schedule. Mark Turgeon's team will square off against a quality Illinois Fighting Illini team in prime time, with all eyes on this conference clash. However, the Terrapins enter Friday's matchup having won just two of their last seven road games. The Fighting Illini, meanwhile, have won each of their last seven games at home. 

Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET at the State Farm Center. Sportsbooks list the Fighting Illini as three-point home favorites, while the over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 130 in the latest Maryland vs. Illinois odds. Before you make any Illinois vs. Maryland picks or college basketball predictions, see what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say.

This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has crushed its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread the past three years, returning $2,770 to $100 players. It also enters Week 14 of the 2019-20 season on a 33-15 run on all top-rated college basketball picks. Anybody who followed it during that span has seen some huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Maryland vs. Illinois. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college basketball lines and trends for Illinois vs. Maryland:

  • Maryland vs. Illinois spread: Illinois -3
  • Maryland vs. Illinois over-under: 130 points
  • Maryland vs. Illinois money line: Illinois -158, Maryland +135
  • MD: The Terrapins are 5-1 against the spread in their last six games.
  • ILL: The Fighting Illini are 5-3 against the spread in their last eight contests.

Why Maryland can cover

The model knows that winning on the road in the Big Ten is difficult, but Maryland has a number of strengths to exploit. The Terrapins are strong offensively, including a high number of free throw attempts and impressive shooting at the line. In fact, Maryland is knocking down 73.8 percent of its shots from the charity stripe. Maryland is also quite good on the offensive glass and, against an Illinois team that hardly ever forces turnovers, the Terrapins should have success in ball security. 

Defensively, the visitors are absolutely tremendous, ranking near the top of the heap nationally in several categories. Maryland is excellent at avoiding fouls and contesting at the rim, producing one of the highest blocked shot rates in the land. The Terrapins are only average in defending the three-point arc but, with Illinois having documented struggles from the perimeter, Maryland can tailor its defense to highlight its stronger points. 

Why Illinois can cover

Even so, the Terrapins aren't a lock to cover the Maryland vs. Illinois spread. The model realizes that Illinois has been a very good team at home this season, dropping only one game on its home floor. The Fighting Illini are very effective on the offensive end, with elite offensive rebounding playing a large role. Illinois enters Friday's matchup averaging 12.68 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks 27th nationally. Those extra possessions fuel an efficient offense, even if Illinois isn't a great shooting team. 

On the other end, Maryland also struggles to shoot from the perimeter, ranking outside the top 200 in the country in effective field goal percentage. On top of that, Illinois does a good job defending three-pointers, and Maryland makes only a paltry 31.6 percent of its attempts from long distance on the season.

How to make Maryland vs. Illinois picks

SportsLine's model is leaning over on the total, with the simulations predicting four players to score in double-digits for Illinois, while Jalen Smith and Anthony Cowan Jr. combine to score over 25 points for Maryland. It also has generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in over 50 percent of simulations. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Maryland vs. Illinois? And which side of the spread hits in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Illinois vs. Maryland spread you need to jump on Friday, all from the model that has crushed its college basketball picks, and find out.