Illinois Fighting Illini vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 1/18/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024

Location: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI

TV: FS1

The Illinois Fighting Illini (12-4) are on their way to Crisler Center on Thursday where they will play the Michigan Wolverines (7-10).

The Illinois Fighting Illini took the court against Maryland and took a loss by a score of 76-67 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up finishing with 14 while Maryland totaled 15 personal fouls. They knocked down 4 of 17 shots from beyond the arc. Maryland ended up shooting 70.6% from the charity stripe by making 12 of 17 shots. Moreover, Maryland had 37 rebounds (10 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Maryland earned 14 dimes and had 4 steals for this game. Pertaining to defending, Illinois allowed the other team to go 46.2% from the floor on 30 of 65 shooting. They also distributed 8 dimes for this game in addition to forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and getting 5 steals. Pertaining to grabbing boards, they collected 35 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini converted 19 of 24 attempts for a rate of 79.2%. Illinois finished the game having earned a 32.8% field goal percentage (21 out of 64) and converted 6 out of their 22 shots from downtown.

Marcus Domask is one guy who played a role in this contest. He finished the contest at 47.4% from the field and recorded 1 assist. He saw the court for 37 minutes and also snagged 4 rebounds. He walked away with 26 points on 9 out of 19 shooting.

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Illinois will enter this matchup with a record of 12-4 on the season. They are averaging 81.7 points per contest (35th in the nation) while going 46.6% from the field. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 34.5% on three-point shots (138 of 400) and 73.0% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Illinois is collecting 43.2 boards per game and has tallied 209 assists on the season, which is 264th in college hoops in terms of passing. They are turning it over 11.8 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 14.1 personal fouls per game.

Defensively, the Fighting Illini are forcing 9.6 turnovers every game while drawing 17.6 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 25th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 174 conceded for the campaign. The Fighting Illini defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 39.0% (407 of 1,044) and they concede 34.1 boards per game as a group. They are conceding 31.4% on three-point shots and they rank 86th in D-1 in PPG allowed (67.4).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Michigan Wolverines walked away with a victory by a final of 73-65 against Ohio State. The Wolverines were able to collect 27 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 37 for this contest. They also coughed up the ball 9 times, while earning 1 steal in this contest. Ohio State was called for 13 fouls in the matchup which got the Wolverines to the free throw line for a total of 10 shots. They were able to make 7 of those for a rate of 70.0%. In reference to 3-point shots, Michigan made 12 out of 23 attempts (52.2%). When the final whistle was blown, the Wolverines finished shooting 27 out of 64 from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.2%. The Wolverines allowed Ohio State to convert 25 of their 66 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.9% for the contest. They wrapped up this game 12.0% from three-point range by shooting 3 of 25 and finished the contest at 12 of 14 from the charity stripe (85.7%). When it comes to rebounds, Michigan allowed Ohio State to snag 34 overall (10 on the offensive side).

Olivier Nkamhoua ended up being a factor for the Wolverines for the matchup. He tallied 20 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and earned 4 assists for the matchup. He knocked down 9 out of 21 for this contest giving him a rate of 42.9%, and had 6 rebounds.

Michigan has a mark of 7-10 for the season. As an offensive unit, the Wolverines are hitting on 47.4% from the floor, which ranks 57th in the country. Michigan has scored 1,355 pts this year (79.7 per game) and they grab 37.6 boards per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.6 times per contest (167th in D-1) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.0 times per game. The Wolverines have committed 17.5 personal fouls every game while shooting 70.9% from the charity stripe.

The Wolverines on the defensive side of the court are 311th in the nation in points allowed per contest with 77.0. They have forced 10.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 44.3% from the floor (250th in the nation). The Michigan defense allows 33.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (123 of 363) and their opponents are converting on 72.2% of their foul shots. They relinquish 12.2 assists and 34.4 total boards per game, which is ranked 137th and 156th in those categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois

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