Illinois Fighting Illini vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 2/8/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025

Location: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN

TV: BTN

Williams Arena is the location where the Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-11) will compete against the Illinois Fighting Illini (15-8) on Saturday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced off with Rutgers and ended up losing by a score of 82-73 in their last contest. Illinois wrapped up the game having earned a 41.5% FG percentage (27 out of 65) and buried 6 of their 28 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini knocked down 13 of 19 shots for a percentage of 68.4%. In the matter of pulling down boards, they compiled a total of 36 with 15 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 13 assists for the game while forcing 8 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Pertaining to defending, Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 40.7% from the field on 24 out of 59 shooting. Rutgers doled out 12 dimes and had 8 steals for this contest. Additionally, Rutgers pulled down 36 rebounds (15 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Rutgers finished 82.4% from the free throw line by making 28 of their 34 tries. They made 6 out of their 16 shots from three-point range. When it comes to personal fouls, the Fighting Illini walked away with 22 and Rutgers recorded 16 personal fouls.

Will Riley is one guy who was a factor for this contest. He finished the contest at 37.5% from the field and recorded 6 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins and collected 3 rebounds. He was able to score 18 points on 6 of 16 shooting.

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Illinois heads into this game with a record of 15-8 this year. They are turning it over 12.1 times per contest and as a group are committing 16.5 personal fouls every game. As a team, Illinois is collecting 45.3 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 336 assists for the campaign, which ranks 116th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Fighting Illini are shooting 30.7% on shots from distance (218 of 710) and 75.0% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 84.7 pts per game (8th in the nation) while going 44.3% from the field.

Defensively, the Fighting Illini are able to force 9.9 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.0 fouls. They are giving up 29.7% on 3-pointers and they are 158th in the nation in PPG from their opponents (70.9). The Fighting Illini defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 39.6% (600 of 1,516) and they relinquish 34.0 rebounds per contest as a group. They are 45th in college in giving up assists with 254 relinquished this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Minnesota Golden Gophers got the win with a final of 69-61 against Penn State. The Golden Gophers collected 24 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 for the matchup. They also gave up possession 11 times, while getting 9 steals for this contest. Penn State committed 17 fouls in this game which got the Golden Gophers to the free throw line for a total of 15 shots. They were able to make 12 of them for a rate of 80.0%. When talking about shooting from beyond the arc, Minnesota made 5 of their 14 tries (35.7%). When the final whistle was blown, the Golden Gophers went 26 out of 49 from the field which had them shooting 53.1%. The Golden Gophers allowed Penn State to knock down 20 of their 58 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 34.5% for this contest. They finished 30.0% from three-point range by going 6 of 20 and ended up shooting 15 out of 20 at the free throw line (75.0%). In reference to rebounding, Minnesota allowed Penn State to get 28 in all (12 on the offensive glass).

Dawson Garcia ended up being a major contributor for the Golden Gophers for the game. He converted 7 out of 15 for this game giving him a rate of 46.7%, and had 14 rebounds. He tallied 19 points in his 38 mins on the court and had 1 assist for the game.

Minnesota has a win-loss record of 12-11 so far this year. As an offensive team, the Golden Gophers are shooting 45.0% from the floor, which is 172nd in the country. Minnesota has scored 1,583 points for the year (68.8 per contest) and they grab 33.9 boards per game. They are earning an assist 15.8 times per game (61st in the country) and they are turning it over 10.7 times per contest. The Golden Gophers have committed 17.1 personal fouls per game and they shoot 64.5% from the charity stripe.

The Golden Gophers are ranked 91st in Division 1 in points allowed per game with 68.7. They are forcing their opponents into 10.9 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.0% from the field (151st in college hoops). The Minnesota defense gives up 34.0% on shots from 3-point land (156 of 459) and their opposition knocks down 75.7% of their foul shots. They have given up 14.6 dimes and 34.8 boards per contest, which is ranked 294th and 207th in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois

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