Michigan State Spartans vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 1/11/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Michigan State Spartans vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Thursday, January 11, 2024

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: FS1

The Michigan State Spartans (9-6) are on their way to State Farm Center on Thursday where they will try to defeat the Illinois Fighting Illini (11-3).

The Michigan State Spartans played Northwestern and took a loss by a score of 88-74 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Spartans finished with 19 and Northwestern recorded 20 personal fouls. They also knocked down 9 of their 23 attempts from three-point range. Northwestern finished the game shooting 83.3% at the free throw line by knocking down 15 of 18 shots. In addition, Northwestern snagged 27 boards (8 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't have a block. Northwestern earned 22 assists and had 7 steals in this game. Regarding defending, Michigan State let their opponent shoot 54.2% from the floor on 32 out of 59 shooting. They also doled out 16 assists for the matchup while forcing the opposition into 4 turnovers and getting 3 steals. In terms of rebounding, they compiled a total of 26 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Spartans buried 15 of 22 shots for a rate of 68.2%. Michigan State finished with a 48.1% FG percentage (25 out of 52) and made 9 out of their 19 3-pointers.

Tyson Walker is one player who was important for the matchup. He finished with 27 points on 10 out of 18 shooting. He saw the court for 34 mins played and pulled down 3 rebounds. He finished the game at 55.6% from the floor and also totaled 3 assists.

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Michigan State comes into this contest with a record of 9-6 for the year. They have an average of 78.0 pts per contest (105th in the country) while going 48.4% from the floor. The Spartans are shooting 35.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (103 of 287) and 69.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Michigan State is collecting 37.0 boards per game and has accounted for 279 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 13th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 11.1 times per game and as a squad they commit 16.5 personal fouls per game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Spartans are able to force 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.7 fouls. They rank 180th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 192 relinquished for the season. The Spartans defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 39.0% (342 of 877) and they relinquish 34.1 rebounds per game as a group. They give up 29.7% from beyond the arc and they are 65th in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (65.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini took a loss by a score of 83-78 when they played Purdue. In reference to team rebounding, Illinois allowed Purdue to get 40 overall (16 on the offensive side). They finished 47.4% from distance by shooting 9 of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 20 out of 25 at the charity stripe (80.0%). The Fighting Illini permitted Purdue to make 27 out of 60 attempts from the field which had them shooting 45.0% in this contest. When this game wrapped up, the Fighting Illini went 26 for 61 from the field which had them shooting 42.6%. When talking about 3-point attempts, Illinois converted 8 out of their 19 tries (42.1%). They were able to make 18 of the free throws for a percentage of 85.7%. Purdue had 17 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Fighting Illini to the charity stripe for a total of 21 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while getting 5 steals for the contest. The Fighting Illini snagged 14 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 25 for the contest.

Marcus Domask was important for the Fighting Illini for the matchup. He made 8 out of 17 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 47.1%, and had 3 rebounds. He accumulated 26 points in his 40 minutes on the court and had 5 assists in this contest.

Illinois has a mark of 11-3 for the campaign. As an offensive team, the Fighting Illini are hitting on 47.9% from the floor, which has them ranked 45th in D-1. Illinois has tallied 1,169 pts for the campaign (83.5 per contest) and they snag 44.0 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 13.6 times per game (186th in Division 1) and they turn it over 12.3 times per contest. The Fighting Illini commit 14.4 fouls per contest and they connect on 71.8% from the free throw line.

The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 86th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 66.8. They have forced 10.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 38.2% from the floor (13th in the country). The Illinois defense surrenders 32.2% on shots from beyond the arc (89 of 276) and their opponents are making 68.2% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 10.7 dimes and 33.4 boards per contest, ranking them 39th and 111th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Michigan State

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