Duke Blue Devils vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 2/22/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Duke Blue Devils vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025

Location: Madison Square Garden in Omaha, NE

TV: FOX

The Illinois Fighting Illini (17-10) will compete against the Duke Blue Devils (23-3) at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

The Duke Blue Devils stepped onto the hardwood against Virginia and took home the win by a score of 80-62 in their last game. Duke walked away from the contest with a 52.5% field goal percentage (31 out of 59) and converted 9 out of their 23 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Blue Devils buried 9 of 11 tries for a percentage of 81.8%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 37 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 16 assists in this contest as well as creating 5 turnovers and getting 4 steals. In the matter of defense, Duke allowed the other team to shoot 38.5% from the floor on 20 out of 52 shooting. Virginia distributed 13 assists and had 3 steals for the game. In addition, Virginia had 19 rebounds (3 offensive, 16 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Virginia finished 82.4% from the free throw line by knocking down 14 of their 17 attempts. They also converted 8 out of their 22 tries from beyond the perimeter. With respect to personal fouls, the Blue Devils walked away with 15 and Virginia racked up 8 personal fouls.

Cooper Flagg is someone who was a factor in the game. He shot 50.0% from the field and distributed 2 assists. He played for 30 mins and grabbed 14 rebounds. He ended up with 17 points on 8 of 16 shooting.

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Duke comes into this one with a win-loss record of 23-3 for the campaign. They are giving up possession 9.7 times per game and as a unit they are committing 15.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Duke is snagging 38.5 boards per game and has accumulated 434 dimes on the year, which ranks 33rd in the country in terms of passing. The Blue Devils are shooting 37.9% on 3-pointers (264 of 697) and 77.5% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 81.0 pts per contest (36th in the nation) while going 48.6% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Blue Devils have forced 11.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.2 fouls. They relinquish 32.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 6th in college in points per game allowed (60.8). The Blue Devils defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 38.4% (568 of 1,480) and they surrender 30.3 boards per game as a unit. They currently rank 58th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 306 surrendered so far this year.

For their last game, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home defeated by a final of 95-74 when they faced Wisconsin. The Fighting Illini collected 20 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 29 in this game. They also coughed up the ball 14 times, while getting 6 steals in this game. Wisconsin had 14 personal fouls for the contest which took the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for 14 shots. They were able to bury 12 of those for a rate of 85.7%. In relation to 3-point attempts, Illinois buried 10 of 30 tries (33.3%). Overall, the Fighting Illini went 26 out of 60 from the field which had them sitting at 43.3%. The Fighting Illini permitted Wisconsin to convert 34 of 65 tries from the field which had them shooting 52.3% in the game. They wrapped up this game 41.7% from downtown by connecting on 10 out of 24 and ended up going 17 of 22 from the free throw line (77.3%). In regard to cleaning up the glass, Illinois allowed Wisconsin to collect 37 in total (12 on the offensive side).

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn ended up having an impact for the Fighting Illini in this matchup. He buried 7 of 12 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and added 4 rebounds. He totaled 17 points in his 25 mins on the court and accumulated 5 assists in this game.

Illinois has a record of 17-10 this year. The Fighting Illini are responsible for committing 16.4 personal fouls every game and they shoot 76.1% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.6 times per contest (116th in the country) and they are turning it over 12.0 times per game. Illinois has accumulated 2,266 points for the campaign (83.9 per game) and they grab 43.8 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Fighting Illini are shooting 44.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 183rd in the nation.

The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 206th in the nation in PPG allowed with 72.4. They have forced 9.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 40.7% from the floor (37th in college). The Illinois defense allows 31.8% on shots from distance (170 of 534) and opponents are making 71.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They give up 11.6 dimes and 33.8 boards per contest, which has them ranked 54th and 148th in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Duke

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