Illinois Fighting Illini vs Arkansas Razorbacks Prediction, 3/16/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Arkansas Razorbacks

Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023

Location: Wells Fargo Arena (IA) in Des Moines, IA

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Illinois (+3)

The Arkansas Razorbacks (20-13) will compete against the Illinois Fighting Illini (20-12) at Wells Fargo Arena (IA) on Thursday. Arkansas opens this game as 3-point favorites. The over/under is 144.5.

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced Penn State and went home with a loss by a final score of 79-76 in their last game. With respect to personal fouls, the Fighting Illini walked away with 21 and Penn State recorded 20 personal fouls. They buried 8 out of their 21 attempts from 3-point land. Penn State ended up shooting 59.1% at the free throw line by knocking down 13 of their 22 attempts. Moreover, Penn State had 31 rebounds (8 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Penn State dished out 13 assists and had 4 steals in the game. Regarding the defense, Illinois allowed the other team to go 51.8% from the field on 29 of 56 shooting. They also dished out 15 assists in this contest while creating 9 turnovers and earning 7 steals. In reference to hauling in boards, they compiled 31 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Fighting Illini made 12 of 19 attempts for a percentage of 63.2%. Illinois walked away from the game having earned a 45.3% FG percentage (29 of 64) and buried 6 of their 21 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Terrence Shannon is one guy who was a contributor for the contest. He finished the game shooting 50.0% from the floor and also earned 4 assists. He was on the court for 37 minutes played and also grabbed 5 rebounds. He racked up 19 points on 7 out of 14 shooting.

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Illinois steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 20-12 this year. They are turning it over 12.8 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 16.9 fouls per contest. As a team, Illinois is collecting 37.9 rebounds per game and is sitting with 399 assists so far this year, which is 235th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Fighting Illini are shooting 30.9% on shots from 3-point land (245 of 793) and 68.0% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 74.7 pts per game (112th in college hoops) while hitting 45.1% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Fighting Illini are forcing their opponents into 13.1 turnovers per game and they draw 18.3 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 45th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 349 surrendered so far this year. The Fighting Illini are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 41.7% (780 of 1,871) and they surrender 33.5 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are conceding 33.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 85th in D-1 in opponents points per game (67.0).

For their last game, the Arkansas Razorbacks took a loss by a score of 67-61 when they faced Texas A&M. Concerning rebounding, Arkansas allowed Texas A&M to pull down 38 in total (13 on the offensive glass). They finished 10.0% from 3-point land by going 1 out of 10 and ended up going 18 of 24 at the free throw line (75.0%). The Razorbacks permitted Texas A&M to bury 24 of their 57 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.1% in this contest. When all was said and done, the Razorbacks went 22 out of 54 from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.7%. In relation to shots from beyond the perimeter, Arkansas buried 5 of 20 attempts (25.0%). They were able to bury 12 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 63.2%. Texas A&M committed 16 fouls in this game which took the Razorbacks to the free throw line for a total of 19 tries. They also turned it over 12 times, while getting 9 steals in this game. The Razorbacks snagged 18 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 25 in the matchup.

Nick Smith was important for the Razorbacks in this game. He earned 16 points in his 39 mins of playing time and added 4 assists for the game. He made 6 of 20 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 30.0%, and accounted for 1 rebound.

Arkansas has a record of 20-13 so far this season. The Razorbacks are committing 19.1 fouls per game and they go 69.0% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 13.4 times per contest (157th in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.9 times per game. Arkansas has accounted for 2,456 points on the season (74.4 per contest) and they grab 35.2 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Razorbacks are shooting 47.5% from the floor, which ranks 30th in college hoops.

The Arkansas defense gives up 30.6% on shots from 3-point land (169 of 553) and their opponents are connecting on 71.4% of their free throw shots. They surrender 10.3 assists and 32.8 rebounds every game, which is 21st and 100th in college basketball. The Razorbacks are ranked 100th in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 67.4. They are able to force 14.3 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.0% from the field (75th in the country).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois (+3)

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