Illinois Fighting Illini vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, 2/26/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Ohio State Buckeyes

Date: Sunday, February 26, 2023

Location: Value City Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: ESPN+

Value City Arena is the site where the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-17) will play the Illinois Fighting Illini (19-9) on Sunday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini played Northwestern and walked away with a win by a score of 66-62 in their last game. Illinois wrapped up the contest having earned a 44.0% field goal percentage (22 of 50) and knocked down 7 out of their 24 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Fighting Illini made 15 of their 21 shots for a rate of 71.4%. With regard to rebounding, they earned 36 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 6 assists for the contest while forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and having 6 steals. With respect to the defense, Illinois let their opponent shoot 34.9% from the floor on 22 of 63 shooting. Northwestern doled out 7 dimes and had 11 steals in this contest. Moreover, Northwestern snagged 29 rebounds (10 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Northwestern finished shooting 75.0% at the free throw line by making 9 of 12 tries. They also made 9 of their 21 attempts from three-point range. In regard to personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up walking away with 16 while Northwestern totaled 18 personal fouls.

Terrence Shannon is a guy who played a role in this matchup. He ended up going 80.0% from the field but had no assists when the game ended. He saw the court for 29 minutes and also totaled 1 rebound. He racked up 26 points on 8 of 10 shooting.

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Illinois enters this contest with a mark of 19-9 for the campaign. They are averaging 74.7 points per contest (114th in Division 1) on 45.5% from the field. The Fighting Illini are hitting 31.4% on 3-pointers (221 of 703) and 67.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, Illinois is collecting 38.5 rebounds per contest and has racked up 354 dimes on the season, which is 248th in the nation in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 13.2 times per game and as a squad are committing 16.6 fouls per game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Fighting Illini have forced 13.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.1 fouls. They concede 33.5% on three-point shots and they rank 58th in D-1 in PPG allowed (65.3). The Fighting Illini defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 40.6% (665 of 1,636) and they surrender 33.0 boards per contest as a group. They are 46th in the nation in giving up assists with 303 relinquished for the campaign.

In their last game, the Ohio State Buckeyes took a loss by a score of 75-71 against Penn State. The Buckeyes corralled 20 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in the game. They turned it over 1 times, while earning 1 steal for this game. Penn State was called for 10 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Buckeyes to the free throw line for a total of 6 attempts. They were able to make 5 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 83.3%. In reference to three-point attempts, Ohio State knocked down 8 of their 23 attempts (34.8%). When the final whistle was blown, the Buckeyes walked away from this one shooting 29 out of 63 from the field which had them sitting at 46.0%. The Buckeyes permitted Penn State to knock down 27 of 52 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 51.9% in this game. They shot 52.6% from 3-point land by connecting on 10 of 19 and ended up shooting 11 of 15 at the free throw line (73.3%). With respect to rebounds, Ohio State allowed Penn State to pull down 24 in total (4 offensive).

Brice Sensabaugh ended up being a factor for the Buckeyes in the matchup. He converted 8 out of 14 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 57.1%, and totaled 5 rebounds. He earned 20 points in his 25 mins of playing time and totaled 2 assists for the matchup.

Ohio State has a win-loss mark of 11-17 this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Buckeyes are connecting on 45.7% from the field, which ranks 117th in college basketball. Ohio State has 2,043 pts for the year (73.0 per contest) and they average 36.9 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 11.5 times per game (310th in the country) and they turn it over 10.8 times per contest. The Buckeyes are committing 15.8 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 72.5% from the charity stripe.

The Ohio State defense allows 32.3% on shots from beyond the arc (198 of 613) and their opponents are converting on 72.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 12.6 assists and 33.6 boards per game, which ranks them 180th and 154th in college hoops. The Buckeyes are ranked 162nd in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 69.4. They are forcing their opponents into 10.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 43.0% from the floor (136th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois

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