Illinois Fighting Illini vs Oregon Ducks Prediction, 1/2/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Oregon Ducks

Date: Thursday, January 2, 2025

Location: Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, OR

TV: FS1

Matthew Knight Arena is where the Oregon Ducks (12-1) will take on the Illinois Fighting Illini (9-3) on Thursday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced Chicago State and took home the win by a score of 117-64 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up finishing with 8 while Chicago State had 19 personal fouls. They also buried 10 of their 31 attempts from long range. Chicago State finished shooting 100.0% at the charity stripe by burying 4 of 4 attempts. Additionally, Chicago State snagged 18 rebounds (4 offensive, 14 defensive), but didn't have a block. Chicago State recorded 10 dimes and had 5 steals in the game. Concerning defense, Illinois let their opponent shoot 37.3% from the field on 25 of 67 shooting. They also recorded 26 assists in this contest as well as forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and having 6 steals. Concerning grabbing rebounds, they compiled 45 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini converted 20 of 28 tries for a percentage of 71.4%. Illinois wrapped up the game with a 62.1% field goal percentage (41 of 66) and buried 15 out of their 33 three-point attempts.

Tomislav Ivisic is one player who was a major contributor for this contest. He finished shooting 75.0% from the floor and recorded 5 dimes. He saw the court for 21 minutes and also totaled 4 rebounds. He totaled 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting.

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Illinois will enter this game with a win-loss mark of 9-3 on the season. They are giving up possession 11.7 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.3 fouls per contest. As a unit, Illinois is pulling in 45.4 rebounds per game and is sitting with 186 assists this season, which is 183rd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 33.4% on shots from downtown (129 of 386) and 75.0% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 86.4 points per outing (17th in college) while going 44.9% from the field.

On defense, the Fighting Illini are forcing their opponents into 10.7 turnovers every game and they draw 19.7 fouls. They rank 16th in D-1 in giving up assists with 118 surrendered for the campaign. The Fighting Illini defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 37.2% (287 of 772) and they surrender 33.0 rebounds per contest as a group. They concede 26.9% on three-point shots while they are 49th in the country in PPG allowed (65.6).

In their last game, the Oregon Ducks got the victory with a final of 89-49 against Weber State. When talking about how they attacked the glass, Oregon permitted Weber State to get 24 overall (8 on the offensive glass). They shot 13.6% from three-point range by going 3 of 22 and finished the contest at 12 out of 21 at the charity stripe (57.1%). The Ducks permitted Weber State to convert 17 of their 51 attempts from the field which had them at 33.3% in this contest. When all was said and done, the Ducks shot 33 for 60 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.0%. With respect to 3-pointers, Oregon buried 9 out of 22 attempts (40.9%). They were able to bury 14 of them for a clip of 82.4%. Weber State had 15 fouls in the game which got the Ducks to the free throw line for 17 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 8 steals for this game. The Ducks were able to pull down 31 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 in the matchup.

Jackson Shelstad pitched in for the Ducks for the contest. He racked up 16 points in his 25 minutes on the court and accounted for 2 dimes in this contest. He converted 7 out of 10 for the game for a field goal rate of 70.0%, and added 1 rebound.

Oregon has a win-loss mark of 12-1 this season. The Ducks commit 17.1 personal fouls every game and they connect on 75.0% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 15.5 times per game (108th in the nation) and they cough up possession 11.5 times per contest. Oregon has 1,034 points so far this season (79.5 per game) and they collect 38.5 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Ducks are shooting 46.5% from the floor, which ranks 122nd in the country.

The Ducks defensively are ranked 51st in college in PPG surrendered with 65.6. They are able to force 13.7 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 39.2% from the floor (37th in D-1). The Oregon defense allows 28.6% on 3-pointers (94 of 329) and opponents are converting on 68.1% of their free throw shots. They allow 11.7 dimes and 33.5 boards per contest, ranking them 92nd and 142nd in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois

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