Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 2/25/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Thursday, February 25, 2021

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Nebraska (+16)

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-16) head to State Farm Center on Thursday where they'll meet the Illinois Fighting Illini (16-6). Nebraska opens this contest as 16-point dogs. The over/under is set at 145.5.

Nebraska heads into this contest with a mark of 5-16 this year. They currently have an average of 69.6 pts per game (231st in the nation) while connecting on 41.0% from the field. The Cornhuskers are hitting 32.9% on 3-pointers (171 of 520) and 62.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Nebraska is pulling in 37.0 boards per contest and has 274 assists on the season, which is 143rd in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are losing possession via turnover 13.5 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 17.5 personal fouls every game. On the defensive end of the court, the Cornhuskers are forcing 13.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.8 fouls. They surrender 31.8% from 3-point land and they rank 254th in college basketball in points per game allowed (73.3). The Cornhuskers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 41.7% (544 of 1,304) and they surrender 40.3 boards per contest as a unit. They rank 285th in college hoops in allowing assists with 301 surrendered so far this season.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers played the Penn State Nittany Lions and took a loss by a score of 86-83 in their last game. Nebraska ended the contest having earned a 53.6% FG percentage (30 of 56) and knocked down 12 out of their 25 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Cornhuskers made 11 of their 15 attempts for a rate of 73.3%. With respect to hauling in boards, they collected a total of 28 with 2 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 16 assists in this matchup in addition to earning 7 steals and 3 blocked shots. With respect to the defense, Nebraska allowed 53.6% from the floor on 30 of 56 shooting. Penn State distributed 19 dimes and had 14 steals for this game. In addition, the Nittany Lions collected 38 boards (13 offensive, 25 defensive) and had 3 blocks. Penn State finished 84.2% when shooting free throws by burying 16 of 19 attempts. They converted 14 out of their 37 shots from distance.

Teddy Allen is one player who was a factor in this matchup. He left the arena with 41 points on 16 out of 24 shooting. He played for 38 mins and also snagged 8 rebounds. Allen went 66.7% from the field and distributed 6 assists. Someone else that was a major factor in the game for the Cornhuskers was Trey McGowens. He snagged 4 rebounds in his 30 minutes played on the night. He finished the game at 41.7% from the field in the matchup by shooting 5-of-12 (17 points). When this game wrapped up, McGowens had 3 assists.

Illinois has a win-loss record of 16-6 for the season. As an offense, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 50.1% from the floor, which is 22nd in the nation. Illinois has tallied 1,789 pts on the campaign (81.3 per contest) and they average 40.0 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 17.0 times per contest (18th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 13.3 times per game. The Fighting Illini are committing 17.8 fouls every game and they go 68.3% from the free throw line. The Fighting Illini defensively are ranked 144th in D-1 in PPG given up with 69.1. They have allowed 11.5 dimes and 30.4 rebounds every game, which ranks them 68th and 19th in college hoops. The Illinois defense surrenders 33.7% on shots from 3-point land (146 of 433) and their opponents are knocking down 67.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They are forcing 11.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 41.3% from the field (81st in college basketball).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home defeated by a final of 81-72 when they faced the Michigan State Spartans. The Fighting Illini snagged 24 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive rebounds totaling 40 for the game. They also blocked 2 shots while earning 4 steals in this game. The Spartans committed 24 fouls for the game which took the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for 34 shots. They were able to convert 19 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 55.9%. When it comes to shooting from distance, Illinois converted 5 of their 17 tries (29.4%). When the game finished, the Fighting Illini ended up going 24 for 60 from the field which had them shooting 40.0%. The Fighting Illini allowed the Spartans to convert 32 of their 59 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 54.2% for the contest. They went 50.0% from 3-point land by shooting 4 out of 8 and finished the contest at 13 out of 20 from the charity stripe (65.0%). In relation to cleaning the glass, Illinois allowed Michigan State to grab 34 overall (8 offensive).

Trent Frazier was important for the Fighting Illini in the matchup. He converted 7 of 13 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 53.8%, and tallied 3 rebounds. Frazier had 22 points in his 33 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 assists in the matchup. Someone else that was important for Illinois was Ayo Dosunmu. He ended up with 5 dimes in his 37 mins on the hardwood, and he put in 6 out of 18 from the floor. Dosunmu wrapped this one up going 33.3% from the field while also contributing 17 points and 9 total rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Illinois (-16) and over 145.5 points

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