Loyola Ramblers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 3/21/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Loyola Ramblers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021

Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Loyola (+6.5)

The Illinois Fighting Illini (24-6) host the Loyola Ramblers (25-4) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois opens this game as 6.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 133.5.

Loyola will take the court with a mark of 25-4 on the season. They turn it over 11.9 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 14.1 personal fouls every game. As a team, Loyola is pulling in 32.6 boards per game and has accounted for 460 dimes for the campaign, which is 10th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Ramblers are shooting 37.0% on shots from 3-point land (212 of 573) and 72.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 71.5 points per game (169th in D-1) while hitting 50.4% from the field. On defense, the Ramblers are forcing their opponents into 13.8 turnovers every game and they draw 16.4 fouls. They give up 32.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 1st in college hoops in points per game allowed (55.7). The Ramblers defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 41.2% (614 of 1,491) and they concede 27.3 boards per game as a unit. They are 111th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 271 conceded for the campaign.

The Loyola Ramblers faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and walked away with a win by a score of 71-60 in their last game. Loyola wrapped up the contest with a 47.2% FG percentage (25 out of 53) and buried 11 out of their 27 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Ramblers made 10 of their 15 shots for a percentage of 66.7%. In regard to grabbing boards, they compiled 29 with 12 of them being offensive. They also doled out 18 dimes in the game while forcing 12 turnovers and having 5 steals. Regarding defense, Loyola let their opponent shoot 57.4% from the field on 27 of 47 shooting. Georgia Tech earned 10 dimes and had 6 steals in this contest. In addition, Georgia Tech totaled 16 rebounds (1 offensive, 15 defensive) and added 5 blocked shots. Georgia Tech shot 60.0% from the free throw line by burying 3 of 5 attempts. They made 3 of 10 tries from distance.

Lucas Williamson is a player who played a role in the matchup. He ended up with 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins and collected 6 boards. Williamson walked away from this one shooting 61.5% from the floor and totaled 4 assists. One more player that came through in this game for the Ramblers was Braden Norris. He snagged 3 rebounds in 40 min played on the night. He ended up going 50.0% from the field for the matchup by going 4-of-8 (16 points). When the time ran out, Norris accounted for 8 assists.

Illinois has a record of 24-6 for the year. The Fighting Illini are responsible for committing 17.7 personal fouls every game and they shoot 68.8% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 16.4 times per game (19th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 12.9 times per game. Illinois has scored 2,439 points for the season (81.3 per contest) and they pull in 40.4 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 50.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 15th in the nation. The Fighting Illini on the defensive side of the court are 124th in the nation in points allowed per contest with 68.6. They are forcing 11.6 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.8% from the floor (44th in college hoops). The Illinois defense gives up 32.8% on shots from distance (197 of 601) and opponents are making 68.8% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 11.0 assists and 30.4 rebounds per game, ranking them 46th and 19th in those categories on the defensive end.

The last time they took the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini got the victory with a final of 78-49 when they faced the Drexel Dragons. The Fighting Illini snagged 33 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 38 for the game. They also turned the ball over 5 times, while recording 5 steals for this contest. The Dragons were called for 10 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Fighting Illini to the charity stripe for a total of 8 attempts. They were able to bury 4 of the free throws for a rate of 50.0%. With respect to 3-point attempts, Illinois made 2 of 7 attempts (28.6%). In all, the Fighting Illini finished shooting 36 out of 63 from the field which gave them a rate of 57.1%. The Fighting Illini permitted the Dragons to make 19 out of their 62 attempts from the field which left them shooting 30.6% for the game. They shot 35.0% from distance via 7 of 20 and finished the game at 4 of 4 at the free throw line (100.0%). When talking about rebounding, Illinois allowed Drexel to get 29 overall (6 offensive).

Kofi Cockburn ended up being a factor for the Fighting Illini for the contest. He made 8 out of 11 for the game for a rate of 72.7%, and totaled 5 rebounds. Cockburn recorded 18 points in his 20 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 1 assist for this game. Someone else that ended being a contributor for Illinois was Ayo Dosunmu. He ended up with 6 dimes in 33 mins on the hardwood, and he knocked down 8 out of 14 from the floor. Dosunmu wrapped this one up going 57.1% from the floor while earning 17 points and 11 total rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Loyola (+6.5)

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