Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 11/6/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Monday, November 6, 2023

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Illinois Fighting Illini (20-13 last year) host the Eastern Illinois Panthers (9-22 last season) at State Farm Center on Monday.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers took the court against Tennessee Tech and went home with a loss by a final score of 75-66 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Panthers walked away with 13 and Tennessee Tech totaled 11 fouls. They knocked down 11 out of their 31 attempts from distance. Tennessee Tech finished 66.7% from the free throw line by knocking down 8 of their 12 shots. Moreover, Tennessee Tech collected 33 rebounds (8 offensive, 25 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Tennessee Tech distributed 18 assists and had 5 steals in the matchup. In the matter of defending, Eastern Illinois let their opponent shoot 47.5% from the floor on 28 of 59 shooting. They also doled out 16 dimes in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and earning 8 steals. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 28 with 7 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Panthers converted 12 of 15 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. Eastern Illinois ended the game having earned a 43.1% field goal percentage (25 out of 58) and converted 4 out of their 16 shots from beyond the arc.

Kinyon Hodges is a guy who was important in the matchup. He accumulated 21 points on 7 out of 14 shooting. He saw the court for 35 mins played but ended the game without a board. He ended up going 50.0% from the field and distributed 3 assists.

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Eastern Illinois enters this one after finishing with a mark of 9-22 last season. They turned it over 13.5 times per contest and as a group committed 18.0 fouls per game. As a basketball team, Eastern Illinois pulled in 33.9 rebounds per game and accounted for 449 assists over the course of last year, which had them ranked 135th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Panthers shot 32.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (162 of 493) and 63.7% from the free throw line. They had an average of 68.8 points per game (252nd in D-1) while going 44.3% from the floor.

Defensively, the Panthers forced their opponents into 14.7 turnovers per game and they drew 17.7 fouls. They were 301st in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 466 relinquished last season. The Panthers defensively allowed a shooting percentage of 43.5% (786 of 1,806) and they surrendered 37.9 boards per contest as a team. They conceded 33.6% from beyond the arc and they were 245th in the nation in opponents points per game (72.1).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home defeated by a final of 73-63 when they faced Arkansas. In regard to rebounding, Illinois permitted Arkansas to snag 39 in all (10 on the offensive side). They finished 27.3% from distance by connecting on 3 of 11 and ended up shooting 22 out of 29 at the free throw line (75.9%). The Fighting Illini allowed Arkansas to knock down 24 of 63 tries from the field which had them shooting 38.1% in this matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Fighting Illini ended up shooting 20 out of 52 from the floor which had them at 38.5%. In reference to 3-pointers, Illinois made 6 out of their 22 tries (27.3%). They were able to knock down 17 of the free throw tries for a rate of 65.4%. Arkansas committed 19 fouls for the matchup which got the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 26 tries. They turned it over 16 times, while getting 10 steals in this game. The Fighting Illini were able to corral 27 defensive rebounds and 2 offensive rebounds for a total of 29 in this contest.

Terrence Shannon was important for the Fighting Illini for the matchup. He tallied 20 points in his 31 minutes on the court, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes. He converted 5 out of 10 for this game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and accounted for 2 rebounds.

Illinois had a record of 20-13 last year. On the offensive side of the court, the Fighting Illini shot 44.9% from the field, which ranked 165th in the country. Illinois totaled 2,452 pts last year (74.3 per game) and they grabbed 37.8 rebounds per contest. They assisted teammates 12.4 times per contest (237th in the country) and they gave up possession 12.9 times per contest. The Fighting Illini were responsible for committing 16.9 fouls per contest and they connected on 67.9% from the free throw line.

The Illinois defense gave up 33.4% on 3-point shots (197 of 589) and their opponents converted on 70.5% of their free throw shots. They surrendered 10.7 dimes and 33.8 total boards per game, ranking them 35th and 156th in those categories. The Fighting Illini defensively were ranked 89th in college basketball in PPG given up with 67.2. They forced 13.0 TO's per game and allowed teams to shoot 41.6% from the floor (60th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Eastern Illinois

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