Illinois Fighting Illini vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 2/5/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, NJ

TV: BTN

The Illinois Fighting Illini (15-7) are hitting the road to Jersey Mike’s Arena on Wednesday where they will attempt to beat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (11-11).

The Illinois Fighting Illini stepped onto the hardwood against Ohio State and went home with a win by a final score of 87-79 in their last game. Illinois finished the game with a 51.7% field goal percentage (30 out of 58) and made 4 of their 20 shots from downtown. From the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini made 23 of their 31 tries for a rate of 74.2%. In terms of hauling in boards, they collected 40 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 10 dimes in the matchup as well as forcing 5 turnovers and getting 2 steals. With regard to defending, Illinois allowed their opponent to shoot 37.0% from the floor on 27 out of 73 shooting. Ohio State distributed 6 dimes and had 3 steals in this game. In addition, Ohio State pulled down 30 rebounds (13 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Ohio State finished the contest at 93.3% when shooting free throws by making 14 of their 15 shots. They also made 11 of their 23 attempts from distance. When it comes to fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up finishing with 14 and Ohio State finished the game with 25 fouls.

Will Riley is a guy who had an impact for this game. He finished with 24 points on 7 out of 9 shooting. He played 29 minutes and also pulled down 3 rebounds. He ended up going 77.8% from the floor and distributed 1 assist.

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Illinois will enter this game with a win-loss record of 15-7 for the year. They average 85.3 pts per game (7th in the country) while hitting 44.4% from the field. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 31.1% on shots beyond the perimeter (212 of 682) and 75.2% from the free throw line. As a unit, Illinois is grabbing 45.5 rebounds per game and is sitting with 323 assists on the year, which has them ranked 135th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 12.0 times per contest and as a squad are committing 16.2 personal fouls per contest.

On defense, the Fighting Illini have forced 10.0 turnovers per game while drawing 19.2 personal fouls. They are 39th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 242 surrendered on the season. The Fighting Illini are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 39.5% (576 of 1,457) and they surrender 33.8 rebounds per game as a unit. They are surrendering 29.4% on shots from downtown and they are 144th in college hoops in points per game allowed (70.4).

When they last stepped on the court, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights went home defeated by a final of 66-63 when they played Michigan. When talking about how they rebounded, Rutgers allowed Michigan to pull down 36 in total (5 offensive). They finished 35.0% from distance by going 7 of 20 and finished the contest at 15 of 21 at the charity stripe (71.4%). The Scarlet Knights permitted Michigan to make 22 of their 46 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.8% in the game. When this game wrapped up, the Scarlet Knights went 22 out of 67 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 32.8%. When talking about three-point attempts, Rutgers buried 10 out of 36 tries (27.8%). They were able to knock down 9 of them for a clip of 69.2%. Michigan earned 17 fouls in the matchup which got the Scarlet Knights to the free throw line for a total of 13 tries. They turned the ball over 11 times, while earning 13 steals for this contest. The Scarlet Knights were able to pull down 20 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 32 in this contest.

Jamichael Davis was important for the Scarlet Knights for this game. He tallied 20 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 2 assists in this contest. He converted 8 of 14 for this contest giving him a rate of 57.1%, and had 4 rebounds.

Rutgers has a win-loss record of 11-11 on the year. As an offense, the Scarlet Knights are connecting on 44.4% from the floor, which ranks them 202nd in Division 1. Rutgers has accounted for 1,671 pts for the season (76.0 per game) and they pull in 36.3 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 13.2 times per contest (230th in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.7 times per contest. The Scarlet Knights are responsible for committing 17.0 fouls per contest while shooting 69.3% from the free throw line.

The Scarlet Knights on defense are ranked 269th in the nation in points given up per game with 74.6. They are forcing their opponents into 12.1 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.9% from the floor (264th in college). The Rutgers defense concedes 34.1% on shots from distance (173 of 507) and opponents are making 69.6% of their free throw shots. They concede 14.5 dimes and 36.2 rebounds per game, which is 291st and 283rd in those defensive categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Rutgers

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