Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 11/4/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Eastern Illinois Panthers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Monday, November 4, 2024

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: BTN+

State Farm Center is the site where the Illinois Fighting Illini (29-9 last year) will attempt to beat the Eastern Illinois Panthers (14-18 last season) on Monday.

The Eastern Illinois Panthers took the court against SIU Edwardsville and took a loss by a score of 68-57 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Panthers ended up finishing with 18 while SIU Edwardsville had 8 personal fouls. They knocked down 6 of 19 attempts from three-point range. SIU Edwardsville finished shooting 80.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 12 of their 15 shots. On top of that, SIU Edwardsville had 33 boards (9 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. SIU Edwardsville earned 10 assists and had 8 steals for this contest. In regard to defending, Eastern Illinois let their opponent shoot 44.6% from the field on 25 out of 56 shooting. They also recorded 11 dimes in this game as well as forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and earning 9 steals. Pertaining to getting rebounds, they earned 31 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Panthers converted 7 of their 10 tries for a percentage of 70.0%. Eastern Illinois finished the game with a 37.7% field goal percentage (23 of 61) and converted 4 of their 19 three-point attempts.

Nakyel Shelton is a guy who came through for the game. He ended up going 58.3% from the field and dished out 1 assist. He played for 34 mins played and snagged 5 boards. He was able to score 20 points on 7 out of 12 shooting.

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Eastern Illinois heads into this one after finishing with a record of 14-18 last year. They gave up possession 10.3 times per contest and as a unit committed 17.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a group, Eastern Illinois pulled down 35.3 rebounds per game and accumulated 413 dimes last season, which had them ranked 225th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Panthers shot 32.0% on shots from 3-point land (179 of 560) and 73.1% from the free throw line. They averaged 68.9 pts per game (300th in college hoops) while going 42.1% from the floor.

On defense, the Panthers forced their opponents into 14.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 14.5 fouls. They were ranked 182nd in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 424 surrendered last year. The Panthers defense allowed an opponent shooting percentage of 44.0% (757 of 1,721) and they relinquished 35.5 boards per game as a squad. They conceded 35.2% on three-point shots and they were ranked 64th in Division 1 in points per game from their opponents (67.9).

When they last played, the Illinois Fighting Illini took a defeat with a final score of 77-52 against Connecticut. The Fighting Illini earned 20 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 27 in this matchup. They turned the ball over 8 times, while recording 3 steals in this contest. Connecticut was called for 17 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Fighting Illini to the charity stripe for a total of 17 tries. They were able to knock down 12 of those for a percentage of 70.6%. Regarding shooting from beyond the arc, Illinois made 6 of 23 tries (26.1%). In all, the Fighting Illini ended up shooting 17 out of 67 from the floor which gave them a rate of 25.4%. The Fighting Illini allowed Connecticut to knock down 31 out of their 60 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 51.7% for this game. They shot 17.6% from downtown via 3 out of 17 and finished the game at 12 of 17 from the free throw line (70.6%). In the matter of how they rebounded, Illinois permitted Connecticut to get 40 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

Marcus Domask ended up being a major contributor for the Fighting Illini for the game. He earned 17 points in his 35 mins on the court and totaled 1 assist for the contest. He made 7 of 13 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 53.8%, and tallied 3 rebounds.

Illinois had a mark of 29-9 last season. The Fighting Illini were responsible for committing 15.2 personal fouls per contest and they hit 73.6% from the free throw line. They assisted teammates 13.3 times per game (160th in the nation) and they coughed up possession 10.6 times per contest. Illinois scored 3,168 pts throughout last season (83.4 per game) and they averaged 40.9 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Fighting Illini connected on 46.9% from the floor, which had them ranked 52nd in the country.

The Illinois defense conceded 34.1% on shots from beyond the arc (233 of 684) and opponents connected on 72.1% of their free throw shots. They surrendered 12.1 dimes and 33.1 boards on a nightly basis, which was ranked 107th and 83rd in D-1. The Fighting Illini on the defensive end were ranked 230th in college hoops in PPG given up with 73.3. They forced their opponents into 8.7 TO's every game and let teams shoot 43.2% from the floor (146th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois

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