Florida Atlantic Owls vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 12/5/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Florida Atlantic Owls vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: ESPN

The Florida Atlantic Owls (7-1) are headed to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday where they will try to beat the Illinois Fighting Illini (6-1).

The Florida Atlantic Owls faced Charleston and walked away with a win by a score of 90-74 in their last contest. Florida Atlantic ended the game with a 55.0% field goal percentage (33 of 60) and made 6 of their 19 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Owls converted 18 of 29 attempts for a percentage of 62.1%. Pertaining to hauling in boards, they earned 44 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 14 dimes for the game in addition to creating 7 turnovers and earning 4 steals. Regarding defense, Florida Atlantic let their opponent shoot 35.8% from the floor on 24 of 67 shooting. Charleston earned 10 assists and had 2 steals for the game. Furthermore, Charleston pulled down 30 boards (11 offensive, 19 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Charleston shot 71.4% from the charity stripe by making 15 of their 21 attempts. They also converted 11 of their 31 tries from beyond the arc. Concerning fouls, the Owls ended up finishing with 19 and Charleston totaled 23 fouls.

Johnell Davis is one player who was a major factor in this contest. He went 60.0% from the field and recorded 3 assists. He saw the court for 29 minutes played and also snagged 10 rebounds. He scored 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting.

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Florida Atlantic enters this one with a record of 7-1 this season. They currently have an average of 83.9 points per game (36th in Division 1) while shooting 50.7% from the field. The Owls are connecting on 38.4% on shots from downtown (71 of 185) and 70.7% from the charity stripe. As a team, Florida Atlantic is grabbing 38.0 rebounds per contest and has totaled 116 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 109th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 10.6 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Owls have forced 12.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.5 fouls. They are ranked 42nd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 71 surrendered this year. The Owls are giving up a FG percentage of 40.6% (194 of 478) and they concede 33.1 boards per contest as a group. They relinquish 32.0% on 3-pointers and they rank 108th in the nation in opponents PPG (67.1).

The last time they took the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home victorious with a score of 76-58 when they played Rutgers. The Fighting Illini corralled 35 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards totaling 49 for the matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 15 times, while recording 3 steals in the matchup. Rutgers was called for 17 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Fighting Illini to the charity stripe for 11 tries. They were able to make 7 of the free throw tries for a rate of 63.6%. In regard to shots from distance, Illinois converted 9 of 21 attempts (42.9%). Overall, the Fighting Illini ended up shooting 30 for 66 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.5%. The Fighting Illini permitted Rutgers to bury 20 of 60 tries from the floor which left them shooting 33.3% in the matchup. They finished 46.2% from 3-point land by going 6 out of 13 and finished the contest at 12 out of 20 at the free throw line (60.0%). With respect to cleaning the glass, Illinois permitted Rutgers to collect 23 in total (6 offensive).

Terrence Shannon was important for the Fighting Illini for the matchup. He earned 23 points in his 37 mins on the court and totaled 3 assists in the matchup. He knocked down 8 of 13 for the contest giving him a rate of 61.5%, and totaled 10 rebounds.

Illinois has a win-loss record of 6-1 this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 46.5% from the floor, which has them ranked 112th in D-1. Illinois has totaled 543 points this season (77.6 per contest) and they average 49.3 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.0 times per game (202nd in the country) and they turn it over 13.1 times per game. The Fighting Illini are committing 13.1 fouls per game and they connect on 57.8% from the charity stripe.

The Illinois defense concedes 27.9% on 3-point shots (36 of 129) and their opponents are making 60.8% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 6.7 dimes and 34.7 boards every game, which ranks them 2nd and 159th in the nation. The Fighting Illini defensively are ranked 8th in college basketball in points allowed per game with 58.6. They are able to force 9.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 33.9% from the field (2nd in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Florida Atlantic

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