Illinois Fighting Illini vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 1/4/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Location: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN

TV: BTN

The Illinois Fighting Illini (9-3) are en route to Williams Arena on Tuesday where they will try to beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-1).

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced Missouri and went home with a win by a final score of 88-63 in their last game. Illinois finished the contest with a 56.9% field goal percentage (33 of 58) and converted 12 of their 25 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Fighting Illini knocked down 10 of 15 shots for a percentage of 66.7%. In terms of hauling in boards, they collected 36 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 20 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and earning 6 steals. When discussing the defense, Illinois allowed 36.5% from the floor on 23 out of 63 shooting. Missouri earned 6 dimes and had 8 steals in this matchup. On top of that, Missouri snagged 27 rebounds (9 offensive, 18 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Missouri finished the contest at 84.6% from the charity stripe by making 11 of 13 tries. They also converted 6 of 23 tries from beyond the perimeter. Regarding personal fouls, the Fighting Illini walked away with 15 and Missouri recorded 17 personal fouls.

Kofi Cockburn is someone who was a contributor in this matchup. He was able to score 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 29 mins and also snagged 14 boards. He finished the contest at 60.0% from the floor and dished out 1 assist.

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Illinois enters this matchup with a record of 9-3 on the campaign. They currently have an average of 81.2 points per contest (23rd in the nation) while connecting on 47.7% from the field. The Fighting Illini are hitting 39.7% from downtown (126 of 317) and 71.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Illinois is pulling in 43.1 rebounds per game and is sitting with 203 dimes so far this season, which ranks 72nd in the country in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 15.3 times per game and as a squad are committing 16.4 personal fouls every game.

Defensively, the Fighting Illini are able to force 11.4 turnovers every game while drawing 19.0 fouls. They are giving up 32.2% from beyond the arc while they are 110th in D-1 in PPG allowed (65.6). The Fighting Illini are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 38.9% (288 of 740) and they surrender 30.1 boards per contest as a squad. They are ranked 20th in D-1 in giving up assists with 113 surrendered on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Minnesota Golden Gophers walked away with a victory by a final of 72-56 when they faced Green Bay. The Golden Gophers were able to collect 22 defensive boards and 3 offensive boards for a total of 25 in this matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 5 times, while recording 6 steals for this contest. Green Bay was called for 14 fouls for the matchup which took the Golden Gophers to the free throw line for 17 tries. They were able to convert 14 of those for a percentage of 82.4%. When talking about shooting from 3-point land, Minnesota buried 6 out of their 16 tries (37.5%). Overall, the Golden Gophers went 26 for 52 from the floor which had them shooting 50.0%. The Golden Gophers allowed Green Bay to make 24 out of 56 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 42.9% in the game. They shot 11.1% from 3-point land by connecting on 2 of 18 and finished the game at 6 of 7 from the charity stripe (85.7%). Regarding cleaning up the glass, Minnesota allowed Green Bay to grab 31 in total (8 on the offensive side).

Payton Willis ended up being a factor for the Golden Gophers for the game. He accumulated 14 points in his 36 mins of playing time and tallied 10 dimes in this game. He converted 6 out of 9 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and earned 4 rebounds.

Minnesota has a record of 10-1 on the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Golden Gophers are shooting 46.7% from the floor, which ranks 73rd in the nation. Minnesota has 792 pts on the campaign (72.0 per game) and they pull in 33.5 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 13.2 times per contest (194th in the nation) and they cough up possession 9.8 times per contest. The Golden Gophers are responsible for committing 13.3 fouls per game and they shoot 72.4% from the free throw line.

The Golden Gophers on defense are ranked 66th in college hoops in PPG given up with 63.1. They have forced 11.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 41.0% from the field (113th in college basketball). The Minnesota defense surrenders 24.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter (55 of 222) and their opponents are making 71.2% of their foul shots. They give up 10.9 assists and 37.2 boards on a nightly basis, ranking them 80th and 284th in D-1.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Minnesota

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