Maryland vs. Illinois prediction: Why Maryland is favored to win women's college basketball matchup [1/1/2026]

Illinois will take on the favored Maryland in women's college basketball action at State Farm Center on New Year's Day, starting at 4:00 PM ET.

Based on the latest simulations, Dimers' new women's basketball model predicts Maryland as the most likely winner of the Maryland vs. Illinois game.

This article offers further insights into Thursday's matchup, including best bets and picks.

Maryland vs. Illinois prediction: Who will win?

Using powerful machine learning and data, we have simulated the result of Thursday's women's basketball matchup between Maryland and Illinois 10,000 times as part of our women's college basketball predictions coverage.

Our independent predictive model gives Maryland a 72% chance of beating Illinois.

According to our model, the 144.5-point over/under has an equal 50-50 chance of hitting.

Maryland vs. Illinois odds

We have researched the best women's college basketball odds in America for this game, which are listed here:

All odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

Maryland vs. Illinois picks and best bet

After matching our predictions against the best current odds, we can reveal our picks for each of the major markets. Plus, find our best bet for the game below: