Wisconsin Badgers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 3/17/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wisconsin Badgers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Sunday, March 17, 2024

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: CBS

Target Center is where the Illinois Fighting Illini (24-8) will attempt to defeat the Wisconsin Badgers (21-12) on Sunday in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game.

The Wisconsin Badgers played Northwestern and notched a win by a score of 70-61 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Badgers left the arena with 17 and Northwestern totaled 16 personal fouls. They made 8 out of their 23 tries from distance. Northwestern finished the contest at 76.5% at the charity stripe by knocking down 13 of 17 tries. On top of that, Northwestern snagged 28 rebounds (6 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't have a block. Northwestern doled out 12 assists and had 6 steals for the matchup. In relation to defense, Wisconsin allowed their opponent to shoot 37.7% from the field on 20 out of 53 shooting. They also doled out 15 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and getting 6 steals. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 30 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Badgers knocked down 12 of 18 shots for a percentage of 66.7%. Wisconsin finished the game with a 46.2% FG percentage (24 of 52) and knocked down 10 of 22 shots from downtown.

AJ Storr is one player who came through in this contest. He finished the game at 62.5% from the field but had no assists when the game ended. He was on the court for 35 mins and also snagged 6 rebounds. He racked up 30 points on 10 of 16 shooting.

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Wisconsin heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 21-12 so far this year. They turn the ball over 9.9 times per game and as a squad are committing 16.0 fouls per contest. As a team, Wisconsin is grabbing 34.1 boards per game and has totaled 410 assists on the season, which ranks 216th in the nation in terms of passing. The Badgers are shooting 35.4% on three-point attempts (234 of 661) and 75.8% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 74.7 pts per contest (148th in the country) while hitting 46.4% from the floor.

Defensively, the Badgers are forcing 11.2 turnovers per game and they draw 18.2 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 86th in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 380 conceded on the season. The Badgers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 45.6% (820 of 1,797) and they surrender 30.1 rebounds per contest as a group. They concede 37.3% on shots from downtown and they are 93rd in the nation in opponents points per game (69.1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Illinois Fighting Illini got the victory with a final of 77-74 when they played Ohio State. When discussing rebounding, Illinois allowed Ohio State to grab 38 overall (13 on the offensive side). They went 26.7% from three-point range by going 4 out of 15 and finished the game at 10 out of 13 at the free throw line (76.9%). The Fighting Illini allowed Ohio State to make 30 of 66 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.5% for this game. When all was said and done, the Fighting Illini shot 26 out of 62 from the field which had them sitting at 41.9%. When discussing three-point shots, Illinois made 4 of their 15 attempts (26.7%). They were able to knock down 21 of the free throws for a rate of 65.6%. Ohio State committed 27 fouls for this contest which got the Fighting Illini to the charity stripe for a total of 32 shots. They also turned the ball over 10 times, while recording 2 steals in this matchup. The Fighting Illini snagged 22 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 for the matchup.

Terrence Shannon ended up being a factor for the Fighting Illini in the game. He made 8 of 20 for the matchup giving him a rate of 40.0%, and added 3 rebounds. He had 28 points in his 37 mins of playing time and accumulated 3 assists for this game.

Illinois has a mark of 24-8 for the season. The Fighting Illini are committing 15.2 personal fouls per contest while shooting 73.8% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 12.8 times per contest (210th in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.9 times per contest. Illinois has scored 2,679 pts so far this year (83.7 per contest) and they average 41.4 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Fighting Illini are hitting on 47.0% from the floor, which ranks them 54th in D-1.

The Illinois defense concedes 34.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (193 of 560) and their opponents are knocking down 71.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 11.6 assists and 32.8 total rebounds per game, which ranks 81st and 74th in the country. The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 224th in Division 1 in PPG allowed with 73.0. They are forcing their opponents into 8.8 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 43.0% from the field (135th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Wisconsin

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