Illinois Fighting Illini vs Iowa State Cyclones Prediction, 3/28/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Iowa State Cyclones

Date: Thursday, March 28, 2024

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Illinois (+4)

The Iowa State Cyclones (29-7) are welcoming the Illinois Fighting Illini (28-8) at TD Garden on Thursday in the Sweet 16. Iowa State opens this contest as 4-point favorites. The total is set at 146.5.

The Illinois Fighting Illini played Duquesne and went home with a win by a final score of 89-63 in their last contest. Illinois wrapped up the game with a 59.3% field goal percentage (35 of 59) and made 7 of 21 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini converted 12 of their 17 tries for a percentage of 70.6%. When talking about pulling down boards, they compiled a total of 31 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 17 assists for this game as well as forcing 9 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Pertaining to defending, Illinois let their opponent shoot 41.0% from the field on 25 of 61 shooting. Duquesne recorded 14 dimes and had 4 steals in the game. Moreover, Duquesne had 25 rebounds (12 offensive, 13 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Duquesne finished the game at 80.0% at the free throw line by making 8 of 10 tries. They knocked down 5 of 17 attempts from distance. In relation to personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up finishing with 12 while Duquesne totaled 17 personal fouls.

Terrence Shannon is one guy who was important for the game. He finished the game at 71.4% from the floor and totaled 4 assists. He played 33 minutes and collected 4 boards. He walked away with 30 points on 10 out of 14 shooting.

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Illinois will play this contest with a win-loss record of 28-8 this season. They currently have an average of 84.6 points per outing (9th in Division 1) while connecting on 47.6% from the field. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 35.3% from downtown (302 of 856) and 74.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, Illinois is snagging 41.0 boards per contest and has 483 assists on the season, which has them ranked 95th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 10.6 times per game and as a team they commit 15.1 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Fighting Illini are able to force 8.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.5 fouls. They are ranked 206th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 430 relinquished on the season. The Fighting Illini are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.0% (990 of 2,300) and they surrender 32.7 boards per contest as a group. They are surrendering 34.3% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 230th in the nation in PPG allowed (73.4).

When they last stepped on the court, the Iowa State Cyclones got the win with a final of 67-56 against Washington State. With respect to how they rebounded, Iowa State allowed Washington State to snag 32 in total (9 on the offensive glass). They went 21.7% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 5 of 23 and ended up shooting 7 of 9 at the free throw line (77.8%). The Cyclones allowed Washington State to bury 22 of 51 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 43.1% for the game. In all, the Cyclones finished shooting 23 out of 57 from the floor which had them at 40.4%. When talking about shots from 3-point land, Iowa State made 7 of their 14 tries (50.0%). They were able to bury 14 of the free throws for a rate of 82.4%. Washington State earned 16 fouls in the game which took the Cyclones to the free throw line for a total of 17 tries. They also coughed up the ball 5 times, while recording 5 steals for the contest. The Cyclones collected 19 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 for the game.

Tamin Lipsey pitched in for the Cyclones for this game. He made 5 out of 11 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 45.5%, and tallied 5 rebounds. He racked up 15 points in his 36 mins on the hardwood and totaled 4 assists for this game.

Iowa State has a win-loss record of 29-7 on the campaign. The Cyclones are committing 16.3 personal fouls per game and they shoot 69.9% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 15.9 times per contest (36th in college basketball) and they turn it over 10.5 times per game. Iowa State has accumulated 2,718 pts this year (75.5 per game) and they grab 33.8 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Cyclones are connecting on 46.5% from the floor, which ranks them 69th in the country.

The Iowa State defense gives up 31.5% on shots from distance (263 of 834) and their opposition knocks down 71.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They give up 12.1 dimes and 32.9 rebounds every game, which ranks them 105th and 77th in the country. The Cyclones on the defensive end are ranked 4th in the nation in points allowed per contest with 61.3. They are forcing their opponents into 17.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 40.2% from the floor (14th in college basketball).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Iowa State (-4) and under 146.5 points

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