Illinois State Redbirds vs Kentucky Wildcats Prediction, 12/29/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois State Redbirds vs Kentucky Wildcats

Date: Friday, December 29, 2023

Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY

TV: ESPN+

Rupp Arena is the location where the Kentucky Wildcats (9-2) will attempt to beat the Illinois State Redbirds (8-4) on Friday.

The Illinois State Redbirds took the court against SE Missouri State and earned the victory with a final of 85-64 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Redbirds ended up with 20 and SE Missouri State totaled 25 fouls. They also converted 6 of their 24 attempts from beyond the perimeter. SE Missouri State finished 70.6% at the charity stripe by making 12 of their 17 attempts. Moreover, SE Missouri State had 28 rebounds (9 offensive, 19 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. SE Missouri State recorded 10 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. Concerning defense, Illinois State allowed the other team to go 39.7% from the field on 23 out of 58 shooting. They also recorded 15 assists for the contest while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and having 8 steals. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they earned 36 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Redbirds buried 23 of their 30 shots for a percentage of 76.7%. Illinois State finished the contest with a 49.1% field goal percentage (27 out of 55) and made 8 out of their 23 three-point attempts.

Darius Burford is a guy who was a factor in this game. He racked up 22 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He played 31 mins played and snagged 4 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 54.5% from the field and also earned 3 assists.

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Illinois State will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 8-4 on the season. They average 68.5 points per outing (303rd in Division 1) while hitting 42.4% from the floor. The Redbirds are hitting 28.8% on 3-point shots (76 of 264) and 70.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Illinois State is grabbing 37.1 boards per game and has racked up 140 assists this year, which ranks 289th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 13.0 times per game and as a unit are committing 16.1 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Redbirds are able to force 12.9 turnovers every game and they draw 19.6 fouls. They are ranked 90th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 135 conceded on the year. The Redbirds defense is allowing a FG percentage of 41.2% (278 of 675) and they surrender 33.9 rebounds per game as a group. They give up 32.3% on 3-point shots and they are 63rd in college basketball in opponents PPG (65.4).

For their last game, the Kentucky Wildcats took home the win by a final score of 95-76 when they faced Louisville. Concerning cleaning up the glass, Kentucky permitted Louisville to grab 30 in total (7 on the offensive side). They shot 23.5% from three-point range by going 4 of 17 and ended up going 22 out of 31 at the charity stripe (71.0%). The Wildcats permitted Louisville to make 25 out of 59 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 42.4% in the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Wildcats walked away from this one shooting 35 out of 68 from the floor which had them shooting 51.5%. In relation to 3-pointers, Kentucky converted 12 of their 25 attempts (48.0%). They were able to knock down 13 of those for a rate of 81.3%. Louisville earned 14 personal fouls for the contest which got the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 16 tries. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while recording 9 steals for this contest. The Wildcats earned 26 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 in the game.

Antonio Reeves ended up being a major contributor for the Wildcats for this contest. He made 10 of 16 in the game for a field goal percentage of 62.5%, and totaled 1 rebound. He accumulated 30 points in his 30 mins on the hardwood and accumulated 2 dimes for the matchup.

Kentucky has a record of 9-2 this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Wildcats are hitting on 49.7% from the floor, which ranks them 21st in the nation. Kentucky has totaled 997 pts on the season (90.6 per game) and they average 38.1 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 19.1 times per game (10th in the country) and they turn it over 9.7 times per game. The Wildcats commit 15.2 fouls per game and they go 73.4% from the free throw line.

The Kentucky defense gives up 32.2% from downtown (93 of 289) and opponents are making 70.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 14.3 dimes and 35.7 total boards per game, which is 289th and 224th in the country. The Wildcats defensively are ranked 254th in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 73.7. They are able to force 14.7 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.3% from the field (166th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kentucky

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