Illinois Fighting Illini vs Purdue Boilermakers Prediction, 1/5/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Purdue Boilermakers

Date: Friday, January 5, 2024

Location: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN

TV: FS1

The Purdue Boilermakers (13-1) will try to defeat the Illinois Fighting Illini (11-2) at Mackey Arena on Friday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini played Northwestern and went home with a win by a final score of 96-66 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Fighting Illini finished with 13 and Northwestern racked up 20 fouls. They also buried 8 out of their 16 attempts from three-point range. Northwestern shot 100.0% from the charity stripe by burying 8 of 8 attempts. Furthermore, Northwestern snagged 23 boards (8 offensive, 15 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Northwestern distributed 8 assists and had 3 steals for this contest. In regard to defense, Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 41.0% from the field on 25 out of 61 shooting. They also distributed 17 assists in the game as well as forcing 10 turnovers and earning 2 steals. When discussing pulling down boards, they earned a total of 33 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Fighting Illini converted 16 of 20 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. Illinois wrapped up the game having earned a 62.5% field goal percentage (35 of 56) and converted 10 of their 18 shots from beyond the arc.

Marcus Domask is one guy who was a major contributor in this matchup. He went 73.3% from the field and dished out 6 dimes. He saw the court for 35 minutes played and totaled 5 rebounds. He accounted for 32 points on 11 out of 15 shooting.

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Illinois steps onto the court with a win-loss mark of 11-2 on the campaign. They are turning it over 12.4 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 14.0 fouls every game. As a unit, Illinois is snagging 45.2 rebounds per contest and has 175 dimes this year, which has them ranked 241st in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Fighting Illini are hitting 34.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (117 of 338) and 70.7% from the free throw line. They are averaging 83.9 pts per contest (27th in D-1) while connecting on 48.3% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Fighting Illini are able to force 9.8 turnovers every game and they draw 18.1 personal fouls. They are surrendering 31.1% on 3-point shots and they rank 64th in the country in points per game allowed (65.5). The Fighting Illini defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 37.8% (321 of 850) and they concede 32.7 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are 21st in Division 1 in giving up assists with 132 conceded for the campaign.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Purdue Boilermakers went home victorious with a score of 67-53 when they played Maryland. The Boilermakers were able to corral 27 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 for the matchup. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 1 steal for the contest. Maryland had 12 personal fouls in this game which got the Boilermakers to the charity stripe for a total of 10 shots. They were able to convert 8 of the free throw tries for a clip of 80.0%. Pertaining to three-point attempts, Purdue knocked down 9 out of 20 attempts (45.0%). Overall, the Boilermakers finished the game shooting 25 out of 54 from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.3%. The Boilermakers permitted Maryland to bury 21 out of their 63 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 33.3% in this game. They shot 22.7% from beyond the arc by going 5 out of 22 and ended up going 6 of 11 at the free throw line (54.5%). With respect to how they rebounded, Purdue permitted Maryland to get 30 in total (13 on the offensive glass).

Zach Edey ended up being important for the Boilermakers for this game. He made 8 out of 13 in this game for a field goal rate of 61.5%, and earned 12 rebounds. He totaled 23 points in his 34 mins on the court and had 2 assists in this matchup.

Purdue has a mark of 13-1 this year. The Boilermakers commit 13.4 fouls per contest and they shoot 71.8% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 18.8 times per contest (12th in the country) and they are turning it over 11.9 times per contest. Purdue has tallied 1,195 points on the season (85.4 per game) and they average 41.1 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Boilermakers are connecting on 49.6% from the floor, which ranks 23rd in college basketball.

The Boilermakers on defense are ranked 95th in college hoops in PPG given up with 67.0. They are forcing their opponents into 11.2 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 39.5% from the field (44th in D-1). The Purdue defense allows 28.1% on shots from 3-point land (101 of 359) and their opponents are knocking down 67.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 13.7 assists and 30.3 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 258th and 15th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois

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