Illinois Fighting Illini vs Purdue Boilermakers Prediction, 3/5/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Purdue Boilermakers

Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023

Location: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN

TV: FOX

The Illinois Fighting Illini (20-10) are headed to Mackey Arena on Sunday where they will try to beat the Purdue Boilermakers (25-5).

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced off with Michigan and walked away with a win by a score of 91-87 in their last contest. Illinois walked away from the game with a 41.7% FG percentage (30 of 72) and converted 5 of their 18 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini converted 26 of their 34 tries for a percentage of 76.5%. In the matter of getting rebounds, they earned a total of 43 with 12 of them being offensive. They also dished out 9 assists in this game as well as forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and earning 9 steals. With regard to the defense, Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 44.3% from the floor on 31 out of 70 shooting. Michigan dished out 8 assists and had 1 steal for this contest. Moreover, Michigan pulled down 45 rebounds (9 offensive, 36 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Michigan finished the contest at 70.8% at the charity stripe by converting 17 of 24 shots. They also knocked down 8 out of their 21 attempts from beyond the perimeter. In regard to fouls, the Fighting Illini walked away with 19 and Michigan accounted for 25 fouls.

Matthew Mayer is a guy who was a major factor in the game. He shot 40.0% from the floor but didn't record a dime. He was on the hardwood for 40 mins and also collected 7 boards. He scored 24 points on 8 of 20 shooting.

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Illinois enters this contest with a record of 20-10 for the season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.9 times per game and as a team they commit 16.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Illinois is pulling in 38.4 boards per contest and has accounted for 371 dimes for the season, which ranks 251st in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 30.9% on shots from 3-point land (232 of 750) and 68.2% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 74.7 points per outing (110th in the country) while hitting 45.0% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Fighting Illini are forcing their opponents into 13.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.3 personal fouls. They rank 41st in college basketball in allowing assists with 321 conceded on the year. The Fighting Illini defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.2% (726 of 1,762) and they concede 33.6 rebounds per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 33.4% on 3-point attempts and they are 71st in D-1 in PPG allowed (66.3).

In their last game, the Purdue Boilermakers walked away with a victory by a final of 63-61 when they faced Wisconsin. The Boilermakers corralled 26 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 36 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while recording 3 steals in this contest. Wisconsin earned 17 personal fouls for the game which took the Boilermakers to the charity stripe for 18 attempts. They were able to make 11 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 61.1%. When talking about shots from downtown, Purdue made 4 of 19 attempts (21.1%). When the game finished, the Boilermakers finished shooting 24 for 48 from the field which had them sitting at 50.0%. The Boilermakers allowed Wisconsin to convert 23 of their 58 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 39.7% for the game. They went 41.7% from beyond the arc via 10 of 24 and ended up shooting 5 out of 5 at the free throw line (100.0%). When discussing cleaning the glass, Purdue permitted Wisconsin to pull down 21 in total (6 offensive).

Zach Edey ended up having an impact for the Boilermakers in the game. He tallied 17 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and had 3 assists for the matchup. He made 7 of 9 in this matchup giving him a rate of 77.8%, and added 19 rebounds.

Purdue has a record of 25-5 so far this season. The Boilermakers are committing 13.4 fouls every game and they connect on 74.8% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.3 times per game (41st in college basketball) and they are turning it over 11.2 times per contest. Purdue has totaled 2,192 pts this year (73.1 per contest) and they collect 39.1 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Boilermakers are connecting on 46.1% from the field, which ranks them 88th in the country.

The Purdue defense gives up 31.0% on shots from distance (188 of 606) and opponents are converting on 73.5% of their foul shots. They concede 12.2 dimes and 27.5 boards per contest, which is ranked 136th and 1st in those categories on the defensive end. The Boilermakers on the defensive side of the court are 19th in college basketball in PPG given up with 62.2. They are forcing their opponents into 9.9 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.5% from the floor (55th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Purdue

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