Illinois Fighting Illini vs Iowa Hawkeyes Prediction, 2/4/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Date: Saturday, February 4, 2023

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA

TV: fuboTV

The Iowa Hawkeyes (14-8) will go up against the Illinois Fighting Illini (16-6) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini played Nebraska and notched a win by a score of 72-56 in their last game. Illinois finished the contest with a 41.7% field goal percentage (25 out of 60) and knocked down 5 of their 29 three-point shots. At the free throw line, the Fighting Illini converted 17 of their 22 attempts for a percentage of 77.3%. With respect to getting rebounds, they earned a total of 35 with 9 of them being offensive. They also recorded 14 assists for the contest while forcing the other team into 19 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In reference to the defense, Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 40.0% from the floor on 20 of 50 shooting. Nebraska distributed 9 dimes and had 5 steals in this contest. Furthermore, Nebraska collected 27 boards (3 offensive, 24 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Nebraska finished the game shooting 80.0% at the free throw line by making 8 of their 10 attempts. They made 8 of 20 attempts from distance. With respect to fouls, the Fighting Illini finished with 14 and Nebraska recorded 20 fouls.

Matthew Mayer is a player who was a major contributor in this game. He finished 28.6% from the floor but had no dimes when the game ended. He played 30 mins played and grabbed 6 rebounds. He accumulated 16 points on 4 of 14 shooting.

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Illinois enters this one with a record of 16-6 this season. They lose possession via turnover 13.4 times per contest and as a squad are committing 16.5 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Illinois is collecting 38.9 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 297 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 177th in the nation in terms of passing. The Fighting Illini are shooting 31.7% on 3-pointers (179 of 564) and 66.7% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.0 points per game (105th in the nation) while connecting on 45.3% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Fighting Illini have forced 14.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.3 personal fouls. They are 38th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 235 relinquished so far this season. The Fighting Illini are giving up a FG percentage of 39.8% (506 of 1,271) and they surrender 33.0 rebounds per game as a team. They concede 32.1% from 3-point land and they are ranked 34th in the nation in PPG allowed (63.3).

For their last game, the Iowa Hawkeyes walked away with a victory by a final of 86-70 when they played Northwestern. The Hawkeyes snagged 24 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards for a total of 29 in this game. They also gave up possession 12 times, while recording 3 steals in the game. Northwestern had 16 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Hawkeyes to the charity stripe for a total of 22 tries. They were able to knock down 18 of the free throws for a clip of 81.8%. In the matter of three-point attempts, Iowa made 10 of 21 tries (47.6%). Overall, the Hawkeyes went 29 out of 52 from the field which gave them a percentage of 55.8%. The Hawkeyes allowed Northwestern to convert 27 of 58 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 46.6% in this matchup. They finished 23.5% from three-point range via 4 out of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 12 out of 14 at the free throw line (85.7%). Regarding how they rebounded, Iowa permitted Northwestern to collect 23 in all (8 offensive).

Filip Rebraca pitched in for the Hawkeyes in this contest. He converted 9 of 13 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 69.2%, and totaled 10 rebounds. He tallied 20 points in his 33 minutes on the court and had 4 dimes in the matchup.

Iowa has a mark of 14-8 for the year. The Hawkeyes commit 14.2 fouls per game and they shoot 73.9% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 16.5 times per contest (20th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 10.5 times per game. Iowa has scored 1,793 pts for the season (81.5 per game) and they grab 37.8 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Hawkeyes are shooting 45.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 114th in the country.

The Iowa defense concedes 34.3% on shots from 3-point land (150 of 437) and opponents are converting on 72.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 14.0 dimes and 35.5 boards per game, which is 275th and 265th in those categories. The Hawkeyes defensively are ranked 285th in D-1 in points given up per game with 73.3. They have forced 13.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 45.6% from the field (304th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Iowa

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