Wisconsin Badgers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 2/6/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Wisconsin Badgers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Saturday, February 6, 2021

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Wisconsin (+3)

The Wisconsin Badgers (14-5) travel to State Farm Center on Saturday where they'll take on the Illinois Fighting Illini (12-5). Wisconsin opens this matchup as 3-point dogs. The total is set at 137.

Wisconsin steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 14-5 on the year. The Badgers are hitting 37.6% from downtown (162 of 431) and 76.2% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 71.9 points per game (175th in the country) while hitting 43.9% from the field. They cough up possession 9.2 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 15.8 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Wisconsin is pulling in 35.1 boards per game and has totaled 261 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 44th in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. When they are on defense, the Badgers have forced 11.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.2 fouls. They are giving up 31.9% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 24th in the country in PPG allowed (62.5). The Badgers are allowing a field goal percentage of 40.4% (432 of 1,069) and they relinquish 33.6 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They rank 219th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 208 relinquished for the year.

The Wisconsin Badgers faced off with the Penn State Nittany Lions and took home the win by a score of 72-56 in their last contest. Wisconsin wrapped up the game having earned a 48.1% field goal percentage (25 out of 52) and made 9 of their 18 shots from downtown. From the free throw line, the Badgers knocked down 13 of their 16 tries for a rate of 81.3%. In terms of rebounding, they collected a total of 31 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 16 assists in the game in addition to having 8 steals and 2 blocks. In reference to defense, Wisconsin let their opponent shoot 48.1% from the floor on 25 of 52 shooting. Penn State recorded 10 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. Moreover, the Nittany Lions grabbed 24 rebounds (10 offensive, 14 defensive) and had 2 rejections. Penn State ended up shooting 60.0% at the charity stripe by making 6 of 10 attempts. They also buried 6 out of their 24 tries from distance.

Brad Davison is someone who was a contributor for the game. He ended up finishing with 13 points on 3 out of 10 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35 mins and also snagged 7 boards. Davison finished the game at 30.0% from the field and recorded 2 assists. Another guy that was a factor in this game for the Badgers was Micah Potter. He snagged 8 rebounds and accounted for 2 dimes. He walked away from this one shooting 57.1% from the field in this matchup by shooting 4-of-7 (12 points). When the final whistle was blown, Potter played for 21 minutes.

Illinois has a record of 12-5 on the campaign. As an offense, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 50.1% from the field, which has them ranked 24th in Division 1. Illinois has 1,398 points this season (82.2 per contest) and they grab 40.2 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 16.8 times per game (26th in the country) and they turn it over 13.2 times per contest. The Fighting Illini commit 18.5 fouls per game while shooting 70.1% from the free throw line. The Fighting Illini are ranked 156th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 69.4. They are able to force 11.8 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.8% from the floor (68th in Division 1). The Illinois defense allows 34.4% on three-point shots (117 of 340) and opponents are making 67.5% of their foul shots. They surrender 11.5 assists and 30.4 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 83rd and 21st in those defensive categories.

For their last game, the Illinois Fighting Illini walked away with a victory by a final of 75-71 when they faced the Indiana Hoosiers. The Fighting Illini pulled down 24 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 35 in the matchup. They turned away 3 shots while getting 7 steals for the contest. The Hoosiers earned 28 personal fouls for the contest which took the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 32 attempts. They were able to make 24 of those for a rate of 75.0%. In terms of shots from 3-point land, Illinois converted 7 out of their 19 tries (36.8%). When the final whistle was blown, the Fighting Illini finished 22 for 57 from the floor which gave them a rate of 38.6%. The Fighting Illini allowed the Hoosiers to convert 22 out of 54 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.7% in the matchup. They shot 50.0% from distance by hitting 4 of 8 and finished the contest at 23 out of 34 at the charity stripe (67.6%). In regard to how they attacked the glass, Illinois allowed Indiana to grab 34 in total (9 on the offensive side).

Trent Frazier ended up having an impact for the Fighting Illini for this game. He knocked down 5 out of 11 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 45.5%, which earned him 19 points. Frazier collected 4 rebounds in his 43 mins played and accumulated 2 assists in this contest. An additional guy who came through for Illinois was Kofi Cockburn. He ended up scoring 16 points in 38 minutes played by going 7 out of 15 shooting for the matchup. Cockburn wrapped this one up going 46.7% from the field and also contributing 2 dimes and 10 rebounds.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Wisconsin (+3)

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