Wisconsin Badgers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 2/2/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wisconsin Badgers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: BTN

The Wisconsin Badgers (17-3) are en route to State Farm Center on Wednesday where they will meet the Illinois Fighting Illini (15-5).

The Wisconsin Badgers stepped onto the hardwood against Minnesota and earned the victory with a final of 66-60 in their last contest. In the matter of personal fouls, the Badgers finished with 15 while Minnesota accumulated 17 personal fouls. They also made 6 of 18 shots from distance. Minnesota ended up shooting 88.9% from the free throw line by making 8 of their 9 shots. Additionally, Minnesota totaled 29 boards (4 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Minnesota distributed 4 dimes and had 4 steals in the matchup. Regarding defense, Wisconsin allowed the other team to go 43.4% from the floor on 23 of 53 shooting. They also recorded 8 assists for the contest as well as forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and having 3 steals. With regard to rebounding, they collected 31 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Badgers buried 12 of 15 tries for a rate of 80.0%. Wisconsin wrapped up the contest with a 42.1% FG percentage (24 out of 57) and made 6 of their 19 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Johnny Davis is someone who was a major factor for the game. He ended up walking away with 16 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He played 37 mins played and also collected 15 rebounds. He finished 50.0% from the floor but wasn't able to get a dime.

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Wisconsin comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 17-3 on the season. They average 72.4 pts per contest (159th in Division 1) while connecting on 42.2% from the field. The Badgers are hitting 32.9% on shots from downtown (145 of 441) and 75.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, Wisconsin is grabbing 35.6 rebounds per game and has totaled 228 dimes this year, which is 287th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 8.5 times per game and as a group are committing 16.9 personal fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Badgers are able to force 12.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.2 fouls. They currently rank 72nd in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 222 relinquished this season. The Badgers defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 43.7% (499 of 1,143) and they relinquish 35.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They relinquish 33.9% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 110th in the nation in opponents PPG (66.5).

In their last game, the Illinois Fighting Illini got the win with a final of 59-56 when they faced Northwestern. In the matter of attacking the glass, Illinois permitted Northwestern to pull down 26 in all (5 offensive). They finished 33.3% from beyond the perimeter by going 6 out of 18 and walked away from this one shooting 10 of 12 at the charity stripe (83.3%). The Fighting Illini permitted Northwestern to convert 20 of 56 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 35.7% for the game. Overall, the Fighting Illini went 22 for 51 from the floor which had them shooting 43.1%. Concerning three-point shots, Illinois converted 5 of 18 attempts (27.8%). They were able to make 10 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 66.7%. Northwestern was called for 20 fouls for the game which got the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for 15 tries. They turned the ball over 13 times, while getting 4 steals for the contest. The Fighting Illini snagged 29 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds totaling 34 for this game.

Kofi Cockburn was important for the Fighting Illini for the game. He buried 10 out of 17 in the matchup for a rate of 58.8%, and had 9 rebounds. He had 22 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist for this game.

Illinois has a mark of 15-5 for the year. The Fighting Illini commit 16.3 personal fouls per contest while shooting 72.3% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 15.7 times per game (44th in Division 1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 13.3 times per contest. Illinois has accounted for 1,543 points so far this year (77.2 per contest) and they average 41.1 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Fighting Illini are shooting 45.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 97th in college basketball.

The Illinois defense gives up 32.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter (112 of 346) and opponents are knocking down 72.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 9.4 assists and 31.4 boards per game, which has them ranked 11th and 43rd in those categories. The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 87th in D-1 in points given up per game with 65.8. They are forcing their opponents into 10.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 39.9% from the floor (40th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Wisconsin

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