Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 11/29/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Monday, November 29, 2021

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: ESPN2

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-2) are traveling to State Farm Center on Monday where they will try to defeat the Illinois Fighting Illini (4-2).

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish faced off with Texas A&M and went home with a loss by a final score of 73-67 in their last game. Notre Dame wrapped up the game having earned a 39.6% FG percentage (19 out of 48) and knocked down 6 out of their 26 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Fighting Irish made 23 of their 30 attempts for a percentage of 76.7%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they earned 31 with 6 of them being offensive. They also distributed 15 dimes in this game while forcing 12 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In terms of the defense, Notre Dame let their opponent shoot 49.1% from the field on 27 out of 55 shooting. Texas A&M recorded 15 dimes and had 13 steals for the game. On top of that, Texas A&M collected 26 boards (6 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Texas A&M went 48.3% from the free throw line by knocking down 14 of their 29 tries. They also converted 5 out of their 11 shots from downtown. In reference to fouls, the Fighting Irish finished with 22 and Texas A&M had 24 fouls.

Dane Goodwin is a player who was a major contributor for the contest. He was able to score 18 points on 4 out of 10 shooting. He played 36 minutes and also snagged 8 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 40.0% from the field but had no assists at the end of the game.

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Notre Dame enters this one with a mark of 3-2 so far this season. They lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per contest and as a squad they commit 15.0 fouls every game. As a team, Notre Dame is collecting 38.0 boards per game and is sitting with 63 dimes so far this year, which is 296th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Fighting Irish are shooting 32.0% on shots from beyond the arc (41 of 128) and 70.0% from the free throw line. They average 70.8 points per game (212th in the country) while going 44.2% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Fighting Irish are able to force 11.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.6 fouls. They give up 42.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 72nd in college basketball in PPG allowed (62.4). The Fighting Irish defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 41.7% (116 of 278) and they concede 31.2 boards per contest as a group. They are currently ranked 18th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 49 conceded this year.

In their last game, the Illinois Fighting Illini got the victory with a final of 94-85 when they faced UT Rio Grande. Regarding rebounding, Illinois allowed UT Rio Grande to snag 25 overall (8 offensive). They finished 30.0% from beyond the arc by going 6 of 20 and finished the contest at 21 of 27 at the free throw line (77.8%). The Fighting Illini allowed UT Rio Grande to knock down 29 out of 61 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.5% in this matchup. When all was said and done, the Fighting Illini ended up shooting 33 out of 53 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 62.3%. When it comes to shots from downtown, Illinois made 8 out of 19 tries (42.1%). They were able to make 20 of the free throw tries for a rate of 83.3%. UT Rio Grande committed 23 personal fouls for this contest which took the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 13 times, while recording 4 steals for the matchup. The Fighting Illini earned 23 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards for a total of 29 in this game.

Kofi Cockburn ended up having an impact for the Fighting Illini for this contest. He buried 15 out of 19 in this contest for a rate of 78.9%, and added 10 rebounds. He accumulated 38 points in his 38 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in the matchup.

Illinois has a win-loss record of 4-2 so far this season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 44.4% from the floor, which is ranked 182nd in the country. Illinois has totaled 446 pts on the year (74.3 per contest) and they average 43.3 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 15.7 times per contest (60th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 17.2 times per contest. The Fighting Illini have committed 17.8 fouls per contest and they hit 66.7% from the free throw line.

The Illinois defense surrenders 29.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (33 of 111) and their opposition knocks down 74.1% of their free throw attempts. They allow 8.2 dimes and 29.8 boards every game, which is ranked 8th and 26th in those categories. The Fighting Illini are ranked 105th in the nation in PPG surrendered with 64.5. They are forcing their opponents into 12.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 39.4% from the floor (78th in the country).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois

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