Illinois Fighting Illini vs Michigan State Spartans Prediction, 1/19/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Michigan State Spartans

Date: Sunday, January 19, 2025

Location: Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI

TV: CBS

Breslin Center is the site where the Michigan State Spartans (15-2) will play the Illinois Fighting Illini (13-4) on Sunday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini took the court against Indiana and notched a win by a score of 94-69 in their last contest. With respect to personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up with 17 and Indiana totaled 21 personal fouls. They also converted 4 out of their 18 tries from beyond the arc. Indiana ended up shooting 83.3% from the free throw line by making 15 of their 18 attempts. Additionally, Indiana pulled down 33 boards (7 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Indiana dished out 14 dimes and had 1 steal in this game. When it comes to defense, Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 38.5% from the field on 25 of 65 shooting. They also doled out 14 assists for the matchup while forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and getting 5 steals. When discussing hauling in boards, they earned a total of 49 with 16 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini converted 23 of 26 attempts for a rate of 88.5%. Illinois wrapped up the game having earned a 40.0% field goal percentage (30 of 75) and knocked down 11 out of their 32 3-point shots.

Kylan Boswell is someone who was a major contributor in this contest. He walked away from this one shooting 40.0% from the field and also dished out 2 dimes. He played 27 mins played and also grabbed 7 rebounds. He accounted for 22 points on 6 out of 15 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Today

Illinois will play this game with a win-loss record of 13-4 for the year. They turn it over 11.6 times per contest and as a group are committing 16.1 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Illinois is grabbing 45.5 boards per game and has 259 dimes on the season, which ranks 132nd in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Fighting Illini are hitting 33.2% on shots from 3-point land (178 of 536) and 77.1% from the free throw line. They average 87.3 points per contest (5th in D-1) while hitting 45.0% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Fighting Illini are able to force 11.0 turnovers per game and they draw 19.0 fouls. They are relinquishing 27.8% on shots from distance and they are ranked 66th in college in PPG allowed (67.3). The Fighting Illini defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 38.5% (424 of 1,101) and they relinquish 33.1 boards per contest as a team. They currently rank 18th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 173 conceded so far this year.

When they last played, the Michigan State Spartans took home the win by a final score of 90-85 when they played Penn State. When it comes to rebounding, Michigan State allowed Penn State to pull down 30 in all (6 offensive). They shot 41.7% from behind the 3-point line by going 10 out of 24 and ended up shooting 19 of 25 at the free throw line (76.0%). The Spartans allowed Penn State to knock down 28 of 53 tries from the field which had them shooting 52.8% in the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Spartans went 32 out of 68 from the floor which had them shooting 47.1%. In reference to shooting from 3-point land, Michigan State converted 6 of 23 tries (26.1%). They were able to knock down 20 of them for a rate of 83.3%. Penn State committed 22 fouls in this contest which took the Spartans to the charity stripe for a total of 24 tries. They also turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 8 steals for the game. The Spartans corralled 20 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards for a total of 32 for this contest.

Frankie Fidler was important for the Spartans in the game. He converted 8 of 13 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 61.5%, and earned 7 rebounds. He recorded 18 points in his 20 mins on the hardwood and totaled 2 assists in the game.

Michigan State has a mark of 15-2 this season. As an offensive team, the Spartans are shooting 47.8% from the floor, which is 58th in college hoops. Michigan State has accounted for 1,391 pts for the year (81.8 per contest) and they pull in 40.8 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 18.6 times per contest (8th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 12.2 times per game. The Spartans are committing 16.4 fouls every game while shooting 81.6% from the charity stripe.

The Spartans on the defensive side of the court are 61st in the country in PPG given up with 67.1. They are forcing 12.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 39.9% from the floor (37th in college). The Michigan State defense concedes 29.4% on 3-pointers (119 of 405) and opponents are connecting on 70.3% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 13.2 assists and 30.5 total rebounds per game, which is 191st and 17th in those defensive categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois

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