Tennessee Volunteers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 12/14/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Saturday, December 14, 2024

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: FOX

State Farm Center is the location where the Illinois Fighting Illini (7-2) will attempt to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers (9-0) on Saturday.

The Tennessee Volunteers stepped onto the hardwood against Miami and went home with a win by a final score of 75-62 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Volunteers ended up walking away with 10 while Miami recorded 12 fouls. They also made 8 out of their 33 tries from distance. Miami went 60.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 6 of their 10 shots. Moreover, Miami pulled down 29 rebounds (7 offensive, 22 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Miami distributed 11 assists and had 9 steals for this game. Pertaining to defending, Tennessee allowed 39.3% from the floor on 24 of 61 shooting. They also recorded 15 assists in this contest as well as forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and having 5 steals. With respect to pulling down rebounds, they earned a total of 33 with 4 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Volunteers made 15 of their 18 tries for a percentage of 83.3%. Tennessee finished the contest having earned a 48.1% FG percentage (25 of 52) and converted 10 out of their 25 shots from distance.

Chaz Lanier is a player who played a role for this contest. He went 53.3% from the field and also earned 1 assist. He played 30 mins and grabbed 3 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting.

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Tennessee comes into this one with a record of 9-0 for the year. They average 82.4 points per outing (50th in Division 1) while hitting 52.1% from the field. The Volunteers are connecting on 37.7% on three-point shots (83 of 220) and 74.1% from the free throw line. As a team, Tennessee is collecting 38.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 157 dimes so far this year, which is 92nd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 11.9 times per contest and as a group are committing 14.2 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Volunteers are forcing 14.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.8 personal fouls. They surrender 26.5% on 3-pointers while they are 3rd in the country in PPG allowed (57.2). The Volunteers are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 35.9% (181 of 504) and they relinquish 27.3 boards per game as a group. They are currently ranked 12th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 87 conceded for the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini got the victory with a final of 86-80 when they played Wisconsin. The Fighting Illini were able to snag 23 defensive boards and 15 offensive rebounds for a total of 38 for the contest. They turned the ball over 13 times, while recording 3 steals for this game. Wisconsin had 21 fouls for the contest which got the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 25 shots. They were able to bury 22 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 88.0%. In regard to three-point shots, Illinois knocked down 10 out of their 33 tries (30.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Fighting Illini finished 27 out of 64 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.2%. The Fighting Illini allowed Wisconsin to knock down 28 of 63 attempts from the field which had them shooting 44.4% in this game. They finished the game shooting 34.5% from 3-point land via 10 out of 29 and ended up shooting 14 out of 21 from the charity stripe (66.7%). In the matter of cleaning the glass, Illinois allowed Wisconsin to pull down 27 in total (9 offensive).

Kasparas Jakucionis pitched in for the Fighting Illini in the game. He converted 8 out of 15 in this matchup giving him a rate of 53.3%, and added 6 rebounds. He recorded 24 points in his 37 mins of playing time and had 5 dimes in this matchup.

Illinois has a win-loss mark of 7-2 for the year. The Fighting Illini are committing 15.9 fouls every game and they connect on 71.9% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.8 times per game (88th in college hoops) and they turn it over 11.2 times per game. Illinois has totaled 776 pts so far this year (86.2 per contest) and they grab 46.6 rebounds per contest. As an offensive unit, the Fighting Illini are shooting 44.4% from the floor, which ranks them 212th in the nation.

The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 38th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 64.4. They are forcing 10.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 37.4% from the floor (11th in the country). The Illinois defense concedes 26.5% on 3-point shots (52 of 196) and opponents are making 59.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 10.7 assists and 33.4 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 49th and 132nd in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Illinois

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