How to Watch, Score Prediction for No. 3 Michigan Basketball vs. No. 10 Illinois

After defeating Minnesota this week, Michigan already secured at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title, but one more win the next three games will give the Wolverines the outright title.

Michigan has a chance to do just that on Friday night. It won't be easy, though. The Wolverines head to Illinois to take on the Fighting Illini for a primetime showdown on Fox. No. 10 Illinois has lost three of its last five games, but will attempt to stop the bleeding against Michigan.

The Wolverines lost a heartbreaker to Duke last week, and looked sloppy against the Gophers. Michigan is also looking to get back on track and play as it did earlier.

Here's how you can see the game, my prediction, and some game notes.

How to watch

Day: Friday, Feb. 27
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Where: State Farm Center (Champaign, Illinois)
Network: Fox
On the call: Jason Benetti and Bill Raftery
Radio: Michigan Sports Network from LEARFIELD

Prediction

Michigan Wolverines forward Morez Johnson Jr. (21) reacts. — Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

This game could be a slugfest. Not only is it another top-10 showdown, but both teams are the highest scoring teams in the Big Ten Conference and both Michigan and Illinois are the top rebounding teams in the conference.

The Wolverines will have to look out for guard Keaton Wagler, a freshman, who averages over 18 points per game and is one of the more electric players in the Big Ten. Illinois has five players who average over 10 points per game.

The Michigan bigs will need to show up for this one and bang around down low. This is a revenge game for Morez Johnson, who played for Illinois last season as a true freshman. With how well Johnson has been playing, I look for him to have a solid game here.

If the Wolverines control the glass, I think Michigan gets a big win and wins the Big Ten outright.

Final score: Michigan 85, Illinois 80

Game Notes

Following its 77-67 win over Minnesota, Michigan secured a share of the 2026 Big Ten regular-season title, its first since 2021. With the title share and the expanded Big Ten Tournament format, Michigan has earned a triple-bye and will begin play in the quarterfinals on Friday (March 13).

With a win at No. 10 Illinois, Michigan would secure the outright Big Ten regular-season title -- its first since 2021. The Wolverines' last outright crown came in 2014, when Nik Stauskas led U-M to a 15-3 conference record, clinching the championship with an 84-53 victory at Illinois on March 4.

The Big Ten title is U-M's 16th regular-season championship. The Wolverines now have 20 Big Ten titles overall, including four Big Ten Tournament crowns, most recently in 2025 during Dusty May's first season at U-M.

Based on available research, Elliot Cadeau is the second known player to win regular-season conference championships in both the Big Ten (2026, Michigan) and ACC (2024, North Carolina). Mason Gillis previously accomplished the feat, winning back-to-back Big Ten titles at Purdue (2023, 2024) before using his COVID year at Duke in 2024-25 and capturing the ACC regular-season title.

Michigan's trip to No. 10 Illinois marks its third road game against a top-10 opponent in the last four contests. U-M is 6-1 against ranked teams this season.