Illinois Fighting Illini vs Iowa Hawkeyes Prediction, 3/10/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Date: Sunday, March 10, 2024

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA

TV: FS1

The Iowa Hawkeyes (18-12) host the Illinois Fighting Illini (22-8) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced off with Purdue and took a loss by a final of 77-71 in their last contest. Illinois walked away from the contest having earned a 45.5% FG percentage (25 out of 55) and converted 4 of their 16 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Fighting Illini buried 17 of 21 tries for a percentage of 81.0%. In relation to getting rebounds, they collected a total of 27 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 9 assists for the game while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When it comes to defense, Illinois allowed 48.3% from the floor on 29 of 60 shooting. Purdue earned 20 dimes and had 5 steals in this game. Furthermore, Purdue had 29 rebounds (10 offensive, 19 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Purdue finished the game at 71.4% when shooting free throws by converting 10 of their 14 attempts. They made 9 out of their 16 attempts from downtown. Regarding fouls, the Fighting Illini finished with 15 and Purdue recorded 17 fouls.

Marcus Domask is a player who was a contributor in the game. He left the arena with 20 points on 8 of 16 shooting. He played 36 minutes and also collected 4 rebounds. He ended up shooting 50.0% from the field and also recorded 4 dimes.

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Illinois steps onto the court with a win-loss mark of 22-8 so far this year. They are turning it over 10.8 times per game and as a team they are committing 15.3 fouls every game. As a team, Illinois is snagging 41.1 rebounds per game and is sitting with 389 dimes so far this season, which is 199th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Fighting Illini are hitting 35.1% on 3-pointers (254 of 723) and 74.5% from the free throw line. They average 84.3 points per contest (12th in college basketball) while shooting 47.2% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Fighting Illini are forcing 8.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They currently rank 63rd in college hoops in allowing assists with 341 surrendered so far this season. The Fighting Illini defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.1% (824 of 1,910) and they surrender 32.6 rebounds per contest as a group. They are relinquishing 34.7% on 3-point shots and they rank 234th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (73.3).

The last time they took the court, the Iowa Hawkeyes got the win with a final of 87-80 when they played Northwestern. With respect to how they attacked the glass, Iowa allowed Northwestern to pull down 18 in total (3 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 50.0% from three-point range by shooting 10 out of 20 and ended up shooting 14 of 16 from the charity stripe (87.5%). The Hawkeyes permitted Northwestern to convert 28 of their 52 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 53.8% for the game. When this game wrapped up, the Hawkeyes went 33 out of 60 from the floor which had them at 55.0%. In the matter of three-point attempts, Iowa knocked down 10 out of 20 tries (50.0%). They were able to make 11 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 84.6%. Northwestern was called for 15 fouls for the matchup which took the Hawkeyes to the charity stripe for 13 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 5 times, while earning 4 steals in the game. The Hawkeyes were able to collect 19 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 26 for the game.

Josh Dix ended up being a factor for the Hawkeyes in this matchup. He converted 9 of 13 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 69.2%, and had 2 rebounds. He totaled 24 points in his 37 minutes on the court and tallied 3 dimes in this contest.

Iowa has a mark of 18-12 on the season. As an offensive unit, the Hawkeyes are connecting on 48.1% from the floor, which is ranked 28th in the nation. Iowa has 2,515 pts for the campaign (83.8 per game) and they grab 35.5 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 17.8 times per contest (8th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 9.7 times per game. The Hawkeyes are responsible for committing 16.7 personal fouls per game while shooting 78.7% from the free throw line.

The Iowa defense allows 35.6% on shots from behind the 3-point line (236 of 663) and opponents are knocking down 71.3% of their free throw shots. They surrender 15.3 dimes and 36.3 total rebounds per game, which is 339th and 271st in the country. The Hawkeyes are ranked 335th in D-1 in points allowed per contest with 78.8. They are forcing their opponents into 12.1 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 45.6% from the field (296th in Division 1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois

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