Illinois Fighting Illini vs Washington Huskies Prediction, 1/5/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Washington Huskies

Date: Sunday, January 5, 2025

Location: Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, WA

TV: BTN

The Illinois Fighting Illini (9-3) are traveling to Alaska Airlines Arena on Sunday where they will try to defeat the Washington Huskies (9-4).

The Illinois Fighting Illini played Chicago State and took home the win by a score of 117-64 in their last game. Illinois finished the contest having earned a 62.1% FG percentage (41 of 66) and made 15 of 33 three-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini knocked down 20 of their 28 attempts for a rate of 71.4%. When it comes to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 45 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 26 assists in the matchup while forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Pertaining to defending, Illinois allowed their opponent to shoot 37.3% from the floor on 25 out of 67 shooting. Chicago State distributed 10 assists and had 5 steals in the game. In addition, Chicago State pulled down 18 boards (4 offensive, 14 defensive), but didn't have a block. Chicago State finished shooting 100.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 4 of 4 attempts. They made 10 out of their 31 tries from downtown. In regard to fouls, the Fighting Illini left the arena with 8 and Chicago State recorded 19 fouls.

Tomislav Ivisic is one player who played a role in the matchup. He finished shooting 75.0% from the floor and also totaled 5 assists. He played 21 mins played and also totaled 4 rebounds. He finished with 23 points on 9 out of 12 shooting.

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Illinois comes into this contest with a mark of 9-3 this season. They average 86.4 points per contest (17th in the nation) while shooting 44.9% from the field. The Fighting Illini are shooting 33.4% from downtown (129 of 386) and 75.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, Illinois is collecting 45.4 boards per game and has accounted for 186 dimes for the campaign, which is 207th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 11.7 times per contest and as a unit they commit 16.3 personal fouls every game.

Defensively, the Fighting Illini are forcing their opponents into 10.7 turnovers per game while drawing 19.7 fouls. They are giving up 26.9% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 52nd in college in PPG from their opponents (65.6). The Fighting Illini defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 37.2% (287 of 772) and they relinquish 33.0 boards per game as a team. They are currently ranked 10th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 118 surrendered on the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Washington Huskies got the victory with a final of 90-53 when they played NJIT. The Huskies were able to pull down 25 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 33 in this contest. They coughed it up 5 times, while earning 12 steals for the contest. NJIT committed 14 fouls in this matchup which took the Huskies to the charity stripe for a total of 14 attempts. They were able to make 12 of the free throw tries for a rate of 85.7%. In relation to three-point shots, Washington buried 10 of their 24 attempts (41.7%). In all, the Huskies ended up going 34 out of 61 from the field which had them sitting at 55.7%. The Huskies allowed NJIT to make 19 of their 51 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 37.3% in this game. They finished the game shooting 17.6% from three-point range by connecting on 3 of 17 and ended up shooting 12 out of 22 at the free throw line (54.5%). Regarding how they rebounded, Washington permitted NJIT to collect 26 in all (9 offensive).

Great Osobor was important for the Huskies in the game. He made 5 of 7 for the contest for a field goal rate of 71.4%, and totaled 6 rebounds. He racked up 12 points in his 18 mins on the court and had 3 assists in this contest.

Washington has a mark of 9-4 for the season. As an offensive team, the Huskies are shooting 44.9% from the field, which is ranked 200th in D-1. Washington has accounted for 964 pts on the campaign (74.2 per contest) and they grab 35.7 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 13.6 times per contest (227th in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.3 times per contest. The Huskies have committed 18.2 personal fouls every game and they hit 63.5% from the charity stripe.

The Huskies on defense are ranked 112th in the country in points per game surrendered with 68.5. They are forcing their opponents into 13.8 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.2% from the field (194th in D-1). The Washington defense gives up 30.1% on shots from 3-point land (72 of 239) and opponents are knocking down 73.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 9.5 assists and 34.5 total boards per game, which ranks them 13th and 188th in D-1.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Washington

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