Illinois Fighting Illini vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 3/2/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Sunday, March 2, 2025

Location: Crisler Center in Nacogdoches, TX

TV: CBS

Crisler Center is where the Michigan Wolverines (21-6) will take on the Illinois Fighting Illini (18-11) on Sunday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini took the court against Iowa and went home with a win by a final score of 81-61 in their last contest. Concerning personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up finishing with 12 and Iowa recorded 13 personal fouls. They converted 6 of their 18 tries from distance. Iowa shot 77.8% from the free throw line by converting 7 of 9 tries. Furthermore, Iowa snagged 34 rebounds (8 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't have a block. Iowa totaled 14 assists and had 1 steal for the game. With regard to the defense, Illinois allowed the other team to go 42.1% from the field on 24 of 57 shooting. They also doled out 17 assists in this game while forcing 16 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Pertaining to hauling in rebounds, they earned 29 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Fighting Illini knocked down 8 of their 12 shots for a rate of 66.7%. Illinois walked away from the game with a 50.8% FG percentage (32 out of 63) and made 9 of their 29 shots from 3-point land.

Tomislav Ivisic is a player who played a role for the contest. He accounted for 22 points on 9 out of 13 shooting. He played for 34 minutes and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 69.2% from the floor and totaled 5 assists.

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Illinois comes into this game with a mark of 18-11 for the year. They have an average of 83.2 pts per contest (15th in college) while shooting 44.8% from the field. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 30.5% on shots from downtown (266 of 872) and 75.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, Illinois is snagging 42.9 boards per game and has accounted for 422 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 101st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 11.6 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.2 fouls per contest.

On defense, the Fighting Illini are able to force 9.6 turnovers per game while drawing 18.3 fouls. They currently rank 130th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 356 relinquished so far this season. The Fighting Illini defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 41.3% (786 of 1,902) and they relinquish 34.2 rebounds per contest as a group. They give up 32.7% on three-point shots while they are 228th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (73.3).

When they last stepped on the court, the Michigan Wolverines got the win with a final of 49-46 when they played Nebraska. In reference to how they attacked the glass, Michigan allowed Nebraska to grab 40 overall (8 offensive). They wrapped up this game 21.4% from three-point range by shooting 6 out of 28 and ended up going 8 out of 12 from the free throw line (66.7%). The Wolverines allowed Nebraska to convert 16 out of their 62 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 25.8% for this contest. In all, the Wolverines ended up going 18 for 61 from the field which had them at 29.5%. Regarding shots from downtown, Michigan converted 5 out of their 27 tries (18.5%). They were able to bury 8 of the free throws for a percentage of 61.5%. Nebraska earned 16 fouls for this contest which got the Wolverines to the free throw line for 13 shots. They coughed it up 14 times, while recording 5 steals in the matchup. The Wolverines earned 34 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 42 in this matchup.

Roddy Gayle Jr. was important for the Wolverines in this contest. He made 3 of 9 in the game for a rate of 33.3%, and accumulated 5 rebounds. He scored 12 points in his 33 mins of playing time and accumulated 1 assist for this game.

Michigan has a win-loss record of 21-6 on the season. The Wolverines are committing 16.8 fouls every game and they go 72.4% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 16.4 times per game (36th in the nation) and they are turning it over 14.4 times per contest. Michigan has tallied 2,151 pts so far this season (79.7 per game) and they grab 38.2 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Wolverines are shooting 48.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 34th in the country.

The Wolverines on the defensive side of the court are 128th in Division 1 in PPG allowed with 70.2. They are forcing 12.2 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 40.5% from the field (32nd in the nation). The Michigan defense concedes 31.1% on shots from behind the 3-point line (198 of 637) and opponents are knocking down 71.2% of their free throw shots. They surrender 11.0 assists and 33.1 rebounds per game, which ranks them 30th and 106th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Michigan

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