Penn State Nittany Lions vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 3/3/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Thursday, March 3, 2022

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: FS1

The Penn State Nittany Lions (12-14) are on their way to State Farm Center on Thursday where they will try to beat the Illinois Fighting Illini (20-8).

The Penn State Nittany Lions took the court against Nebraska and took a loss by a final of 93-70 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Nittany Lions ended up finishing with 16 and Nebraska finished the game with 14 personal fouls. They converted 13 of 20 attempts from distance. Nebraska walked away from this one shooting 84.2% at the free throw line by knocking down 16 of 19 tries. Furthermore, Nebraska collected 32 rebounds (9 offensive, 23 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Nebraska recorded 14 assists and had 8 steals for the matchup. In reference to defense, Penn State allowed the other team to shoot 58.2% from the field on 32 of 55 shooting. They also recorded 14 assists in this contest while forcing the opposition into 15 turnovers and having 10 steals. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they collected 21 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Nittany Lions made 7 of their 10 attempts for a percentage of 70.0%. Penn State finished with a 46.6% field goal percentage (27 out of 58) and made 9 of 26 3-point attempts.

Seth Lundy is one guy who was a contributor in this matchup. He ended up finishing with 12 points on 4 of 11 shooting. He played 27 minutes and also collected 4 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 36.4% from the field but finished the game without a dime.

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Penn State heads into this contest with a record of 12-14 for the campaign. They turn it over 12.3 times per contest and as a unit they commit 15.4 fouls every game. As a team, Penn State is snagging 35.6 boards per game and has accumulated 320 assists so far this season, which ranks 301st in college hoops in terms of passing the rock. The Nittany Lions are shooting 34.7% from downtown (213 of 613) and 72.7% from the free throw line. They are averaging 65.3 pts per game (314th in college basketball) while shooting 43.7% from the floor.

Defensively, the Nittany Lions are forcing their opponents into 8.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 14.6 fouls. They are currently ranked 124th in the nation in giving up assists with 336 surrendered on the campaign. The Nittany Lions are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.5% (616 of 1,483) and they relinquish 31.8 boards per contest as a basketball team. They give up 35.5% on 3-point attempts and they are 75th in the nation in PPG from their opponents (65.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home victorious with a score of 93-85 when they played Michigan. With respect to attacking the glass, Illinois permitted Michigan to collect 25 in total (6 on the offensive side). They went 33.3% from downtown by going 5 out of 15 and ended up going 22 of 25 from the free throw line (88.0%). The Fighting Illini permitted Michigan to convert 29 out of 57 attempts from the floor which had them at 50.9% in this matchup. In all, the Fighting Illini walked away from this one shooting 34 out of 60 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 56.7%. In the matter of shooting from distance, Illinois converted 10 of their 17 tries (58.8%). They were able to make 15 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 60.0%. Michigan earned 19 fouls in this contest which got the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 25 tries. They turned it over 9 times, while recording 4 steals in this contest. The Fighting Illini pulled down 19 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 26 for this contest.

Kofi Cockburn ended up being a factor for the Fighting Illini in the matchup. He made 11 of 15 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 73.3%, and had 7 rebounds. He accumulated 27 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 1 assist for the contest.

Illinois has a win-loss record of 20-8 this season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 46.0% from the floor, which ranks them 79th in college basketball. Illinois has totaled 2,152 points this season (76.9 per contest) and they snag 38.9 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.5 times per game (39th in college basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.5 times per contest. The Fighting Illini commit 16.6 fouls every game and they hit 70.2% from the charity stripe.

The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 148th in the nation in PPG allowed with 68.0. They have forced 10.8 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 41.3% from the floor (72nd in Division 1). The Illinois defense gives up 32.1% on shots from 3-point land (158 of 492) and their opponents are connecting on 73.4% of their foul shots. They surrender 10.1 dimes and 32.2 boards per contest, which is 24th and 70th in the country.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Illinois

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