Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 2/28/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: BTN

The Illinois Fighting Illini (20-7) will take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-10) at State Farm Center on Wednesday.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers took the court against Nebraska and ended up losing by a score of 73-55 in their last game. Minnesota wrapped up the game having earned a 31.0% FG percentage (18 of 58) and made 6 of their 23 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Golden Gophers converted 13 of 19 tries for a percentage of 68.4%. Regarding hauling in rebounds, they collected 35 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 6 assists for this contest as well as forcing 10 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In regard to defending, Minnesota let their opponent shoot 39.3% from the field on 24 out of 61 shooting. Nebraska recorded 14 dimes and had 5 steals for the contest. Additionally, Nebraska grabbed 41 rebounds (11 offensive, 30 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Nebraska ended up shooting 84.2% at the free throw line by knocking down 16 of their 19 attempts. They made 9 of 28 attempts from long range. In relation to fouls, the Golden Gophers ended up finishing with 14 while Nebraska racked up 15 fouls.

Cam Christie is one player who was a major contributor in this matchup. He notched 14 points on 3 out of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35 minutes and collected 4 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 25.0% from the floor and earned 1 assist.

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Minnesota will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 17-10 this season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.1 times per game and as a team they commit 16.7 fouls per contest. As a team, Minnesota is pulling in 36.3 rebounds per game and has accumulated 485 dimes this year, which ranks 13th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Golden Gophers are shooting 35.5% on shots from 3-point land (217 of 611) and 68.8% from the free throw line. They are averaging 75.9 points per contest (113th in college basketball) while shooting 47.0% from the floor.

Defensively, the Golden Gophers are forcing 11.2 turnovers per game while drawing 17.2 personal fouls. They are ranked 236th in the nation in giving up assists with 373 surrendered on the season. The Golden Gophers defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.9% (686 of 1,599) and they relinquish 33.6 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 33.8% on shots from distance and they rank 112th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (69.8).

In their last game, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home victorious with a score of 95-85 when they played Iowa. When talking about team rebounding, Illinois allowed Iowa to get 30 in total (10 on the offensive glass). They went 33.3% from beyond the arc by going 4 of 12 and finished the contest at 21 of 25 from the free throw line (84.0%). The Fighting Illini allowed Iowa to make 30 of 63 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.6% for this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Fighting Illini finished shooting 31 for 63 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 49.2%. With respect to shots from downtown, Illinois knocked down 10 of their 27 attempts (37.0%). They were able to make 23 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 76.7%. Iowa had 21 personal fouls in this contest which took the Fighting Illini to the charity stripe for a total of 30 tries. They also coughed up the ball 9 times, while earning 7 steals for the game. The Fighting Illini collected 24 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 37 in the matchup.

Coleman Hawkins ended up being a factor for the Fighting Illini for the matchup. He recorded 30 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and added 5 dimes for this contest. He converted 9 of 11 in the matchup for a rate of 81.8%, and accounted for 2 rebounds.

Illinois has a win-loss mark of 20-7 for the campaign. The Fighting Illini commit 15.2 fouls per contest and they go 74.0% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.2 times per contest (176th in college basketball) and they turn it over 11.1 times per contest. Illinois has accumulated 2,262 points on the season (83.8 per game) and they pull down 42.3 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Fighting Illini are hitting on 46.6% from the floor, which is ranked 78th in the nation.

The Illinois defense surrenders 32.4% on 3-point shots (153 of 472) and their opponents are making 71.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 11.0 assists and 33.0 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 43rd and 85th in college basketball. The Fighting Illini on defense are ranked 187th in college hoops in PPG given up with 72.0. They are forcing 9.1 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.1% from the floor (88th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois

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