Purdue Boilermakers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 3/5/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Purdue Boilermakers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: Peacock

The Purdue Boilermakers (26-3) are headed to State Farm Center on Tuesday where they will go up against the Illinois Fighting Illini (22-7).

The Purdue Boilermakers faced off with Michigan State and notched a win by a score of 80-74 in their last contest. Purdue wrapped up the game with a 51.0% field goal percentage (25 out of 49) and made 10 out of their 20 shots from 3-point land. From the free throw line, the Boilermakers buried 20 of 30 tries for a percentage of 66.7%. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they collected 31 with 7 of them being offensive. They also recorded 15 dimes for the contest while forcing 7 turnovers and getting 4 steals. With respect to defense, Purdue allowed 39.1% from the floor on 25 out of 64 shooting. Michigan State dished out 11 assists and had 6 steals for the game. Moreover, Michigan State snagged 32 rebounds (11 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Michigan State ended up shooting 88.2% when shooting free throws by burying 15 of their 17 tries. They buried 9 of 21 tries from beyond the perimeter. When talking about personal fouls, the Boilermakers ended up with 17 while Michigan State accounted for 25 personal fouls.

Zach Edey is one guy who was a factor for the contest. He finished the game shooting 60.0% from the field and also recorded 4 dimes. He saw the court for 37 minutes and collected 11 rebounds. He ended up scoring 32 points on 9 of 15 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Picks Today

Purdue will take the court with a win-loss record of 26-3 so far this season. They are averaging 84.7 pts per contest (8th in D-1) while going 49.2% from the field. The Boilermakers are shooting 40.5% on shots from beyond the arc (247 of 610) and 72.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, Purdue is pulling down 40.8 boards per game and is sitting with 529 assists for the year, which ranks 8th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 11.4 times per contest and as a unit they commit 14.0 personal fouls per game.

On defense, the Boilermakers are able to force 9.8 turnovers per game while drawing 20.4 personal fouls. They are surrendering 32.6% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 124th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (70.2). The Boilermakers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.7% (756 of 1,812) and they surrender 29.4 rebounds per game as a group. They are 303rd in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 424 relinquished this season.

When they last played, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home victorious with a score of 91-83 when they played Wisconsin. The Fighting Illini collected 21 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards totaling 29 in this game. They turned the ball over 8 times, while getting 3 steals for the game. Wisconsin committed 24 fouls for the game which got the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for 30 shots. They were able to knock down 24 of the free throws for a clip of 80.0%. When discussing shots from distance, Illinois made 9 of their 16 attempts (56.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Fighting Illini shot 29 out of 56 from the field which gave them a rate of 51.8%. The Fighting Illini permitted Wisconsin to bury 30 out of their 60 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 50.0% for the game. They went 37.5% from behind the 3-point line by going 6 out of 16 and ended up shooting 17 out of 23 at the free throw line (73.9%). In the matter of team rebounding, Illinois permitted Wisconsin to collect 28 in all (8 offensive).

Marcus Domask ended up being a major contributor for the Fighting Illini for the contest. He earned 31 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and had 3 dimes for the matchup. He converted 12 out of 21 in this game giving him a rate of 57.1%, and totaled 8 rebounds.

Illinois has a win-loss mark of 22-7 so far this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Fighting Illini are shooting 47.3% from the field, which ranks them 48th in college basketball. Illinois has accumulated 2,458 pts on the year (84.8 per game) and they pull in 41.5 boards per game. They are getting an assist 13.1 times per contest (180th in college basketball) and they turn it over 10.8 times per game. The Fighting Illini commit 15.3 fouls per game and they go 74.3% from the charity stripe.

The Illinois defense allows 34.1% on shots from beyond the arc (173 of 508) and their opposition knocks down 71.1% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 11.1 assists and 32.7 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 46th and 66th in D-1. The Fighting Illini are ranked 220th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 73.2. They are forcing their opponents into 8.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.0% from the field (147th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Purdue

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here