Northwestern Wildcats vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 2/13/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Sunday, February 13, 2022

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: BTN

State Farm Center is the site where the Illinois Fighting Illini (17-6) will take on the Northwestern Wildcats (12-10) on Sunday.

The Northwestern Wildcats faced off with Indiana and earned the victory with a final of 59-51 in their last game. Northwestern ended having earned a 31.4% FG percentage (22 out of 70) and knocked down 5 of their 27 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Wildcats knocked down 10 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 76.9%. In terms of getting rebounds, they compiled a total of 43 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 7 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In terms of the defense, Northwestern allowed the other team to go 37.0% from the floor on 20 out of 54 shooting. Indiana dished out 13 dimes and had 3 steals in the matchup. In addition, Indiana totaled 34 boards (6 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Indiana finished the game shooting 53.8% at the free throw line by knocking down 7 of their 13 tries. They buried 4 out of their 16 attempts from 3-point range. In relation to personal fouls, the Wildcats walked away with 16 and Indiana finished the game with 15 personal fouls.

Boo Buie is one player who was important in the game. He finished the game at 42.1% from the field but had no assists when the time ran out. He was on the court for 32 mins and pulled down 3 rebounds. He finished with 18 points on 8 of 19 shooting.

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Northwestern heads into this one with a mark of 12-10 on the year. They turn it over 9.5 times per contest and as a squad are committing 18.2 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Northwestern is collecting 36.7 boards per contest and has accounted for 357 assists for the season, which has them ranked 62nd in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Wildcats are hitting 34.8% on 3-pointers (181 of 520) and 73.5% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.1 points per contest (84th in the nation) while shooting 43.6% from the field.

On defense, the Wildcats have forced 13.6 turnovers per game while drawing 17.5 personal fouls. They are ranked 224th in college hoops in allowing assists with 306 relinquished on the season. The Wildcats defense is allowing a FG percentage of 41.7% (500 of 1,199) and they concede 34.9 boards per game as a unit. They concede 35.6% from beyond the arc and they are 145th in college hoops in PPG allowed (67.8).

In their last game, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home defeated by a final of 84-68 against Purdue. In relation to how they rebounded, Illinois allowed Purdue to pull down 30 overall (8 on the offensive side). They shot 40.9% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 9 out of 22 and finished the game at 13 out of 18 from the charity stripe (72.2%). The Fighting Illini permitted Purdue to make 31 out of their 61 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 50.8% for this game. When the final whistle blew, the Fighting Illini finished shooting 24 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 41.4%. In reference to shots from 3-point land, Illinois knocked down 8 out of their 26 attempts (30.8%). They were able to make 12 of the free throws for a percentage of 80.0%. Purdue was called for 16 personal fouls for this game which got the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 15 tries. They coughed it up 9 times, while getting 4 steals in the matchup. The Fighting Illini corralled 19 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 26 in the game.

Kofi Cockburn ended up being a major contributor for the Fighting Illini for the matchup. He had 18 points in his 27 minutes of playing time, but wasn't able to tally an assist. He knocked down 7 out of 12 in this game for a field goal rate of 58.3%, and had 7 rebounds.

Illinois has a record of 17-6 for the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Fighting Illini are hitting on 46.0% from the floor, which ranks them 84th in D-1. Illinois has 1,765 points on the year (76.7 per game) and they pull in 40.0 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 15.7 times per game (46th in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.7 times per game. The Fighting Illini commit 16.4 fouls every game and they shoot 71.4% from the charity stripe.

The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 101st in D-1 in PPG given up with 66.3. They have forced 10.6 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 40.1% from the floor (33rd in college hoops). The Illinois defense surrenders 31.4% on 3-point attempts (127 of 405) and their opponents are making 72.9% of their foul shots. They have conceded 9.7 assists and 31.9 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 12th and 55th in Division 1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Northwestern

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