Illinois Fighting Illini vs Missouri Tigers Prediction, 12/22/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Missouri Tigers

Date: Friday, December 22, 2023

Location: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO

TV: FS1

The Missouri Tigers (7-4) will compete against the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-2) at Enterprise Center on Friday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini stepped onto the hardwood against Colgate and earned the victory with a final of 74-57 in their last contest. Concerning personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up finishing with 11 while Colgate totaled 18 personal fouls. They made 3 out of their 15 shots from beyond the arc. Colgate ended up shooting 33.3% from the free throw line by converting 2 of 6 tries. Additionally, Colgate collected 23 rebounds (6 offensive, 17 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Colgate recorded 10 assists and had 4 steals in this contest. When talking about the defense, Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 42.6% from the floor on 26 of 61 shooting. They also doled out 10 dimes in this game while forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and having 5 steals. In terms of hauling in rebounds, they collected a total of 39 with 12 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini converted 20 of their 22 shots for a percentage of 90.9%. Illinois ended with a 41.8% field goal percentage (23 of 55) and made 8 of 23 3-point attempts.

Coleman Hawkins is one guy who played a role for the game. He finished 42.9% from the floor and also earned 1 assist. He played for 29 minutes and also snagged 7 rebounds. He totaled 16 points on 6 out of 14 shooting.

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Illinois enters this contest with a win-loss record of 8-2 for the year. They are turning it over 12.8 times per game and as a group they are committing 14.3 personal fouls per game. As a team, Illinois is pulling down 44.8 rebounds per game and has tallied 120 assists this year, which is 325th in the nation in terms of passing. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 32.5% on shots from distance (83 of 255) and 69.4% from the free throw line. They are averaging 79.4 points per contest (85th in the country) while hitting 46.5% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Fighting Illini are forcing 9.9 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.3 personal fouls. They currently rank 17th in D-1 in giving up assists with 101 conceded so far this season. The Fighting Illini defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 37.2% (240 of 645) and they surrender 33.9 boards per game as a unit. They are conceding 29.2% on 3-pointers and they are 42nd in the country in PPG allowed (64.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the Missouri Tigers took a loss by a final score of 93-87 when they faced Seton Hall. The Tigers recorded 14 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 24 for this game. They turned the ball over 12 times, while recording 3 steals in this contest. Seton Hall had 18 fouls for this game which took the Tigers to the free throw line for a total of 22 shots. They were able to knock down 19 of them for a rate of 86.4%. Regarding 3-point shots, Missouri converted 12 out of 24 attempts (50.0%). In all, the Tigers finished shooting 28 for 62 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.2%. The Tigers permitted Seton Hall to bury 33 of their 56 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 58.9% for the game. They went 43.5% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 10 out of 23 and ended up shooting 17 of 23 from the charity stripe (73.9%). When talking about attacking the glass, Missouri allowed Seton Hall to snag 30 in all (12 offensive).

Tamar Bates pitched in for the Tigers in this game. He converted 7 of 12 in the game for a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and accumulated 2 rebounds. He had 22 points in his 28 mins of playing time and accounted for 1 assist for the game.

Missouri has a win-loss record of 7-4 on the campaign. The Tigers are committing 17.9 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 77.8% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.2 times per contest (145th in D-1) and they are giving up possession 11.5 times per game. Missouri has totaled 830 pts on the campaign (75.5 per contest) and they pull in 32.8 rebounds per game. As an offensive team, the Tigers are hitting on 45.1% from the floor, which ranks 167th in D-1.

The Missouri defense allows 31.6% on shots from distance (73 of 231) and opponents are knocking down 74.5% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 12.5 dimes and 36.9 boards per game, ranking them 174th and 271st in college hoops. The Tigers defensively are ranked 161st in the nation in points per game surrendered with 70.1. They are able to force 14.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.5% from the floor (179th in Division 1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois

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