Illinois Fighting Illini vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 1/16/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Monday, January 16, 2023

Location: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN

TV: Youtube TV

Odds/Point Spread: Illinois (-9)

Williams Arena is where the Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-8) will take on the Illinois Fighting Illini (12-5) on Monday. Illinois opens as -9-point favorites. The total comes in at 137.

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced off with Michigan State and walked away with a win by a score of 75-66 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up finishing with 10 and Michigan State racked up 17 personal fouls. They buried 0 out of their 7 shots from downtown. Michigan State walked away from this one shooting 76.9% at the free throw line by making 10 of their 13 attempts. Moreover, Michigan State pulled down 39 boards (12 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Michigan State earned 4 assists and had 2 steals for the matchup. Regarding defending, Illinois allowed 43.1% from the field on 28 of 65 shooting. They also recorded 11 assists for the contest while forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and having 4 steals. In regard to pulling down rebounds, they earned 29 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Fighting Illini knocked down 15 of 18 attempts for a percentage of 83.3%. Illinois finished with a 45.0% FG percentage (27 of 60) and converted 6 of their 18 three-point shots.

Dain Dainja is one player who came through for the contest. He finished with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 32 minutes and collected 7 boards. He finished 66.7% from the floor and also dished out 1 assist.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Betting Picks

Illinois comes into this game with a win-loss record of 12-5 so far this season. They currently have an average of 76.8 pts per game (72nd in college basketball) while connecting on 46.0% from the field. The Fighting Illini are shooting 33.2% from downtown (150 of 452) and 67.2% from the free throw line. As a team, Illinois is pulling down 38.9 boards per game and has earned 239 assists so far this year, which is 188th in the country in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 14.1 times per game and as a squad are committing 16.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Fighting Illini are able to force 15.2 turnovers every game and they draw 18.6 fouls. They are currently ranked 40th in college basketball in giving up assists with 183 relinquished so far this season. The Fighting Illini defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 39.4% (390 of 991) and they concede 33.5 boards per contest as a unit. They are surrendering 31.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 50th in the country in points per game allowed (63.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Minnesota Golden Gophers walked away with a victory by a final of 70-67 when they faced Ohio State. When it comes to rebounding, Minnesota allowed Ohio State to collect 33 overall (10 offensive). They finished shooting 46.2% from 3-point land via 6 out of 13 and ended up going 13 out of 15 from the charity stripe (86.7%). The Golden Gophers allowed Ohio State to make 24 of 64 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 37.5% for the game. In all, the Golden Gophers finished 27 for 54 from the field which had them at 50.0%. In relation to 3-point attempts, Minnesota converted 7 out of their 22 tries (31.8%). They were able to bury 9 of those for a rate of 56.3%. Ohio State was called for 15 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Golden Gophers to the charity stripe for a total of 16 attempts. They also coughed it up 9 times, while recording 3 steals for this contest. The Golden Gophers were able to collect 28 defensive boards and 4 offensive boards totaling 32 in the game.

Dawson Garcia ended up being a factor for the Golden Gophers in the matchup. He buried 9 out of 15 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and accounted for 9 rebounds. He earned 28 points in his 38 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 2 assists in this matchup.

Minnesota has a win-loss record of 7-8 this season. The Golden Gophers have committed 14.8 fouls per contest and they go 59.2% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.1 times per contest (128th in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.1 times per game. Minnesota has scored 970 pts this year (64.7 per contest) and they grab 34.8 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Golden Gophers are hitting on 43.6% from the field, which ranks 236th in the country.

The Golden Gophers defensively are ranked 131st in D-1 in points given up per game with 67.5. They are forcing 10.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 41.8% from the field (108th in the country). The Minnesota defense concedes 34.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter (104 of 302) and their opponents are knocking down 73.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 12.9 assists and 36.9 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 197th and 303rd in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Minnesota (+9)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here