Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 12/29/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Thursday, December 29, 2022

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: Youtube TV

State Farm Center is the site where the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-4) will attempt to beat the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (4-8) on Thursday.

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats faced off with North Florida and went home with a loss by a final score of 87-85 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 17 and North Florida totaled 16 fouls. They also converted 11 out of their 34 tries from beyond the perimeter. North Florida ended up shooting 71.4% at the free throw line by making 20 of their 28 attempts. In addition, North Florida grabbed 34 rebounds (7 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. North Florida distributed 14 assists and had 7 steals in this game. In the matter of defending, Bethune-Cookman allowed the other team to go 45.2% from the field on 28 out of 62 shooting. They also distributed 13 assists for this game in addition to forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With regard to pulling down boards, they compiled a total of 30 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Wildcats converted 18 of their 23 shots for a percentage of 78.3%. Bethune-Cookman ended the contest having earned a 49.2% FG percentage (32 out of 65) and buried 3 of their 17 shots from distance.

Marcus Garrett is a guy who was a contributor in the matchup. He was able to score 27 points on 9 out of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 36 mins played and collected 2 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 60.0% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist.

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Bethune-Cookman will take the court with a record of 4-8 on the season. They lose possession via turnover 13.0 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 15.8 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Bethune-Cookman is snagging 32.9 rebounds per game and has 147 dimes so far this season, which ranks 295th in the country in terms of passing. The Wildcats are hitting 34.9% on shots from 3-point land (66 of 189) and 72.2% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 67.6 points per contest (298th in college basketball) while shooting 42.9% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats have forced 13.6 turnovers per game and they draw 15.0 personal fouls. They currently rank 298th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 187 conceded so far this year. The Wildcats defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 45.0% (318 of 706) and they surrender 36.7 rebounds per contest as a team. They are giving up 37.3% on shots from downtown and they rank 338th in the country in PPG allowed (76.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini took a loss by a score of 93-71 against Missouri. Concerning attacking the glass, Illinois permitted Missouri to pull down 24 overall (8 on the offensive side). They finished 50.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 10 out of 20 and finished the contest at 13 out of 18 at the charity stripe (72.2%). The Fighting Illini permitted Missouri to convert 35 out of 59 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 59.3% in the game. When the final whistle blew, the Fighting Illini shot 25 out of 62 from the field which gave them a rate of 40.3%. In the matter of three-point attempts, Illinois made 7 of their 31 attempts (22.6%). They were able to make 14 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 73.7%. Missouri was called for 20 personal fouls for the contest which got the Fighting Illini to the charity stripe for a total of 19 tries. They turned the ball over 16 times, while getting 6 steals in this game. The Fighting Illini pulled down 17 defensive rebounds and 18 offensive rebounds for a total of 35 in the game.

Terrence Shannon pitched in for the Fighting Illini in the game. He recorded 22 points in his 37 minutes on the court and tallied 5 assists for the contest. He made 6 out of 13 for the contest for a rate of 46.2%, and tallied 7 rebounds.

Illinois has a mark of 8-4 for the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Fighting Illini are shooting 46.3% from the field, which ranks 118th in the nation. Illinois has accumulated 930 points so far this year (77.5 per contest) and they pull down 39.8 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.1 times per game (157th in Division 1) and they are giving up possession 15.3 times per contest. The Fighting Illini are responsible for committing 16.4 personal fouls every game and they connect on 65.2% from the charity stripe.

The Fighting Illini are ranked 79th in college basketball in points allowed per contest with 64.7. They are forcing their opponents into 16.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 40.2% from the floor (63rd in the nation). The Illinois defense gives up 33.2% on three-point shots (77 of 232) and opponents are knocking down 70.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 11.8 dimes and 32.4 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 131st and 94th in college basketball.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois

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