Illinois Fighting Illini vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 12/2/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023

Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, NJ

TV: BTN

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-1) are welcoming the Illinois Fighting Illini (5-1) at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Saturday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced off with Western Illinois and walked away with a win by a score of 84-52 in their last game. Illinois wrapped up the contest with a 47.2% FG percentage (34 of 72) and buried 10 of their 25 3-point shots. At the free throw line, the Fighting Illini converted 6 of their 12 tries for a percentage of 50.0%. In terms of hauling in boards, they collected a total of 48 with 14 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 9 assists in the game as well as creating 10 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In terms of defense, Illinois allowed the other team to go 29.2% from the field on 21 of 72 shooting. Western Illinois recorded 6 dimes and had 5 steals in the game. Furthermore, Western Illinois pulled down 31 rebounds (9 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Western Illinois went 50.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 4 of 8 tries. They made 6 of 25 shots from distance. In the matter of personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up walking away with 8 and Western Illinois accumulated 15 personal fouls.

Terrence Shannon is one guy who was important for this contest. He finished with 19 points on 6 out of 10 shooting. He played for 26 minutes played and also pulled down 2 boards. He went 60.0% from the field and also dished out 1 assist.

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Illinois enters this one with a record of 5-1 for the year. They currently have an average of 77.8 pts per contest (123rd in the country) while shooting 46.7% from the floor. The Fighting Illini are shooting 31.6% on 3-point shots (49 of 155) and 57.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Illinois is grabbing 48.3 boards per contest and has 79 dimes on the year, which is 273rd in the nation in terms of passing. They turn it over 12.5 times per game and as a team are committing 12.0 personal fouls every game.

On defense, the Fighting Illini have forced 9.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.0 personal fouls. They are 3rd in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 38 conceded so far this season. The Fighting Illini are allowing a shooting percentage of 34.0% (136 of 400) and they concede 36.0 boards per game as a basketball team. They relinquish 25.9% from beyond the arc and they rank 9th in the nation in points per game from their opponents (58.7).

The last time they took the court, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights took home the win by a final score of 71-40 when they played St. Peter's. The Scarlet Knights snagged 23 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 32 for the contest. They turned it over 7 times, while earning 12 steals in this game. St. Peter's had 27 personal fouls for this game which took the Scarlet Knights to the free throw line for a total of 32 tries. They were able to bury 23 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 71.9%. Regarding 3-point shots, Rutgers made 6 out of their 20 tries (30.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Scarlet Knights went 21 out of 55 from the field which had them at 38.2%. The Scarlet Knights allowed St. Peter's to convert 13 of their 55 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 23.6% for this game. They finished 15.8% from 3-point land by hitting 3 out of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 11 out of 21 at the charity stripe (52.4%). Concerning cleaning the glass, Rutgers allowed St. Peter's to pull down 42 overall (16 on the offensive side).

Noah Fernandes was important for the Scarlet Knights in this game. He tallied 19 points in his 26 minutes on the court and had 3 dimes for the game. He converted 5 out of 9 for this game giving him a rate of 55.6%, and tallied 4 rebounds.

Rutgers has a record of 5-1 on the year. As an offense, the Scarlet Knights are connecting on 42.1% from the floor, which ranks them 278th in Division 1. Rutgers has totaled 423 points for the season (70.5 per game) and they collect 39.5 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 13.3 times per contest (183rd in college basketball) and they cough up possession 11.2 times per contest. The Scarlet Knights are committing 16.2 personal fouls per game and they shoot 65.4% from the charity stripe.

The Rutgers defense surrenders 30.1% on 3-point attempts (40 of 133) and their opponents are connecting on 65.6% of their free throw attempts. They concede 8.0 assists and 37.7 boards per game, which has them ranked 6th and 283rd in those categories. The Scarlet Knights defensively are ranked 4th in college hoops in points given up per game with 55.5. They are forcing 17.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 34.6% from the floor (4th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois

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