Illinois Fighting Illini vs Missouri Tigers Prediction, 12/22/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Missouri Tigers

Date: Sunday, December 22, 2024

Location: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO

TV: ESPN+

The Illinois Fighting Illini (7-3) are en route to Enterprise Center on Sunday where they will meet the Missouri Tigers (10-1).

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced Tennessee and took a loss by a final of 66-64 in their last contest. Illinois walked away from the game with a 29.4% FG percentage (15 out of 51) and made 4 of 23 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Fighting Illini knocked down 30 of 36 tries for a rate of 83.3%. In reference to pulling down boards, they compiled 32 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 6 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 4 turnovers and having 2 steals. With respect to the defense, Illinois allowed the other team to go 32.3% from the floor on 20 out of 62 shooting. Tennessee recorded 6 dimes and had 7 steals in this game. Furthermore, Tennessee pulled down 39 rebounds (16 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Tennessee walked away from this one shooting 71.4% from the charity stripe by converting 20 of their 28 shots. They also knocked down 6 out of their 24 attempts from three-point range. When discussing fouls, the Fighting Illini finished with 21 and Tennessee racked up 24 fouls.

Kasparas Jakucionis is someone who was a major factor in this game. He ended up going 33.3% from the floor and totaled 2 dimes. He played 37 minutes and snagged 3 rebounds. He ended up with 22 points on 5 of 15 shooting.

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Illinois will enter this game with a mark of 7-3 for the campaign. They have an average of 84.0 points per game (41st in the country) while connecting on 43.2% from the field. The Fighting Illini are shooting 32.4% on shots from distance (106 of 327) and 73.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, Illinois is collecting 45.6 boards per contest and is sitting with 148 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 244th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 11.2 times per game and as a squad they are committing 16.4 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end of the court, the Fighting Illini are forcing their opponents into 10.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.8 fouls. They currently rank 16th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 102 conceded this year. The Fighting Illini defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 36.9% (239 of 647) and they surrender 34.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They give up 26.4% on three-point shots while they are 38th in college in PPG allowed (64.6).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Missouri Tigers walked away with a victory by a final of 83-72 when they played Jacksonville State. In reference to how they attacked the glass, Missouri allowed Jacksonville State to collect 37 in all (14 on the offensive glass). They finished 40.9% from behind the 3-point line by going 9 of 22 and finished the contest at 9 of 13 at the charity stripe (69.2%). The Tigers allowed Jacksonville State to bury 27 out of their 60 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 45.0% in the matchup. In all, the Tigers finished 28 for 56 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Missouri converted 12 of their 25 attempts (48.0%). They were able to make 15 of them for a percentage of 68.2%. Jacksonville State had 16 personal fouls in this game which took the Tigers to the free throw line for 22 tries. They gave up possession 3 times, while getting 9 steals in this game. The Tigers corralled 17 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards totaling 25 for the contest.

Jacob Crews ended up being a factor for the Tigers in the game. He scored 19 points in his 20 mins of playing time, but wasn't able to notch an assist. He made 6 out of 10 in the game giving him a rate of 60.0%, and had 2 rebounds.

Missouri has a mark of 10-1 for the year. The Tigers are committing 15.0 personal fouls every game while shooting 71.4% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.2 times per contest (180th in the country) and they are turning it over 10.5 times per game. Missouri has 976 pts on the campaign (88.7 per contest) and they collect 34.9 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Tigers are hitting on 52.0% from the field, which is 2nd in Division 1.

The Tigers on defense are ranked 70th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 66.7. They have forced 16.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 40.6% from the field (78th in college). The Missouri defense surrenders 33.2% on three-point shots (81 of 244) and their opposition knocks down 78.2% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 11.6 assists and 32.4 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 92nd and 79th in those categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Illinois

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