Northwestern Wildcats vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 1/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: BTN

State Farm Center is the location where the Illinois Fighting Illini (9-2) will take on the Northwestern Wildcats (9-2) on Tuesday.

The Northwestern Wildcats stepped onto the hardwood against Arizona State and took home the win by a score of 65-46 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 16 and Arizona State finished the game with 11 personal fouls. They also converted 3 of 18 attempts from downtown. Arizona State finished the game shooting 61.1% from the free throw line by knocking down 11 of their 18 attempts. In addition, Arizona State collected 25 boards (3 offensive, 22 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Arizona State totaled 9 dimes and had 6 steals in the game. In regard to defense, Northwestern allowed 31.4% from the floor on 16 of 51 shooting. They also doled out 12 dimes for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and having 5 steals. In the matter of rebounding, they earned 40 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Wildcats made 4 of 9 attempts for a percentage of 44.4%. Northwestern wrapped up the game with a 47.3% field goal percentage (26 out of 55) and converted 9 out of their 22 three-point attempts.

Boo Buie is one guy who was a major factor in this game. He accounted for 22 points on 8 out of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 37 mins played and also totaled 7 boards. He finished the game at 53.3% from the floor and also earned 3 assists.

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Northwestern enters this game with a mark of 9-2 for the campaign. They are averaging 72.8 points per game (234th in college basketball) while shooting 46.4% from the floor. The Wildcats are hitting 35.4% on 3-point shots (84 of 237) and 70.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, Northwestern is snagging 31.7 boards per game and has accumulated 183 dimes for the year, which ranks 122nd in the country in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession by turning the ball over 8.8 times per game and as a group they are committing 17.3 personal fouls per game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Wildcats have forced 14.4 turnovers every game and they draw 16.4 personal fouls. They are 81st in D-1 in giving up assists with 135 conceded for the campaign. The Wildcats defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 41.4% (233 of 563) and they concede 33.3 boards per contest as a group. They relinquish 31.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 26th in D-1 in points per game allowed (63.1).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home victorious with a score of 97-73 against Missouri. Concerning how they rebounded, Illinois allowed Missouri to collect 30 in total (8 on the offensive side). They finished 22.2% from downtown by connecting on 6 of 27 and ended up going 9 out of 16 at the charity stripe (56.3%). The Fighting Illini permitted Missouri to bury 29 of 74 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 39.2% in the matchup. Overall, the Fighting Illini finished shooting 32 out of 65 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 49.2%. In terms of shooting from beyond the arc, Illinois knocked down 11 of 33 tries (33.3%). They were able to bury 22 of those for a percentage of 71.0%. Missouri earned 23 fouls in this contest which took the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 31 attempts. They also turned it over 10 times, while getting 5 steals in this game. The Fighting Illini collected 32 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive boards totaling 47 in this game.

Terrence Shannon ended up being a factor for the Fighting Illini in this matchup. He converted 9 of 14 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 64.3%, and accounted for 11 rebounds. He racked up 30 points in his 35 minutes on the court and had 4 assists in this matchup.

Illinois has a win-loss record of 9-2 this year. As an offense, the Fighting Illini are hitting on 46.7% from the field, which is ranked 102nd in D-1. Illinois has earned 891 points for the season (81.0 per game) and they pull down 45.4 boards per game. They are earning an assist 12.5 times per game (259th in the nation) and they turn it over 12.5 times per game. The Fighting Illini have committed 14.3 personal fouls every game and they shoot 69.6% from the charity stripe.

The Fighting Illini on defense are ranked 54th in D-1 in PPG given up with 65.0. They are able to force 9.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 37.4% from the field (9th in the nation). The Illinois defense allows 28.3% on 3-point attempts (60 of 212) and opponents are converting on 65.0% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 9.7 assists and 34.0 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 20th and 136th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois

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