Illinois Fighting Illini vs Michigan State Spartans Prediction, 2/23/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Michigan State Spartans

Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Location: Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Illinois (-7)

The Illinois Fighting Illini (16-5) go to Breslin Center on Tuesday where they'll take on the Michigan State Spartans (11-9). The odds on this game have Illinois as 7-point favorites. The total opens at 145.

Illinois enters this one with a mark of 16-5 for the campaign. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 39.3% on 3-pointers (156 of 397) and 69.2% from the free throw line. They average 81.8 pts per contest (16th in the country) while connecting on 50.6% from the floor. They turn it over 13.4 times per contest and as a unit they commit 17.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Illinois is grabbing 40.0 boards per game and has totaled 359 dimes this season, which is 18th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. Defensively, the Fighting Illini are forcing 12.1 turnovers every game while drawing 19.4 personal fouls. The Fighting Illini are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 40.7% (519 of 1,274) and they concede 30.2 rebounds per contest as a group. They are currently ranked 144th in D-1 in giving up assists with 234 surrendered for the season. They are conceding 33.4% on 3-pointers while they are 130th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (68.6).

The Illinois Fighting Illini played the Minnesota Golden Gophers and took home the win by a score of 94-63 in their last game. Illinois ended the game having earned a 56.1% FG percentage (37 of 66) and buried 7 out of their 14 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini knocked down 13 of 15 attempts for a rate of 86.7%. Concerning grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 35 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 27 assists for the contest in addition to getting 9 steals and 2 rejections. When it comes to the defense, Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 56.1% from the field on 37 of 66 shooting. Minnesota totaled 16 dimes and had 2 steals in this game. In addition, the Golden Gophers pulled down 25 boards (5 offensive, 20 defensive) and earned 2 blocks. Minnesota went 73.3% from the free throw line by burying 11 of 15 attempts. They buried 8 of their 16 attempts from distance.

Kofi Cockburn is one player who was a contributor for the matchup. He accumulated 22 points on 9 of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 24 mins and also totaled 6 boards. Cockburn walked away from this one shooting 75.0% from the field but finished the game without an assist. An additional guy that was a major factor in this game for the Fighting Illini was Ayo Dosunmu. He pulled down 10 boards and collected 10 assists. He walked away from this one shooting 56.3% from the field in this matchup by connecting on 9-of-16 (19 points). Overall, Dosunmu played 32 minutes.

Michigan State has a mark of 11-9 on the year. As an offense, the Spartans are shooting 42.5% from the field, which has them ranked 263rd in the nation. Michigan State has tallied 1,416 points for the season (70.8 per game) and they collect 38.4 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 16.9 times per game (21st in the nation) and they turn it over 13.7 times per game. The Spartans are responsible for committing 19.7 fouls every game and they hit 73.9% from the charity stripe. The Spartans on defense are ranked 216th in college basketball in points given up per game with 71.7. The Michigan State defense gives up 31.6% on three-point shots (128 of 405) and opponents are making 71.6% of their free throw shots. They give up 13.6 assists and 34.5 rebounds per contest, which is 230th and 157th in Division 1. They are able to force 10.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 42.7% from the floor (147th in the country).

The last time they took the court, the Michigan State Spartans walked away with a victory by a final of 78-71 against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Spartans collected 20 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 31 for this game. They rejected 4 shots while earning 4 steals in this matchup. The Hoosiers had 16 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Spartans to the charity stripe for a total of 15 shots. They were able to knock down 13 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 86.7%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Michigan State converted 7 of their 17 tries (41.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Spartans walked away from this one shooting 29 out of 59 from the field which gave them a rate of 49.2%. The Spartans allowed the Hoosiers to convert 25 of their 57 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 43.9% for the contest. They shot 21.1% from 3-point land by shooting 4 of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 17 out of 24 from the free throw line (70.8%). Concerning cleaning the glass, Michigan State permitted Indiana to snag 28 overall (9 offensive).

Aaron Henry ended up being a major contributor for the Spartans for this game. He knocked down 9 out of 17 in this contest giving him a rate of 52.9%, which had him sitting at 27 points. Henry snagged 5 rebounds in his 40 mins played and earned 2 dimes in the game. Another guy who came through for Michigan State was Joshua Langford. He notched 14 points in his 36 minutes played by going 5 out of 6 from the floor in the matchup. Langford wrapped this one up going 83.3% from the field as well as totaling 5 assists and 6 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois (-7)

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