Ohio State Buckeyes vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 2/2/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Sunday, February 2, 2025

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: CBS

The Ohio State Buckeyes (13-8) are traveling to State Farm Center on Sunday where they will try to defeat the Illinois Fighting Illini (14-7).

The Ohio State Buckeyes faced Penn State and took home the win by a score of 83-64 in their last contest. Regarding fouls, the Buckeyes ended up finishing with 26 and Penn State recorded 17 fouls. They also converted 6 out of their 19 shots from downtown. Penn State finished the game shooting 55.2% when shooting free throws by making 16 of 29 tries. Moreover, Penn State collected 19 rebounds (2 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Penn State distributed 14 assists and had 1 steal for the matchup. In reference to the defense, Ohio State allowed their opponent to shoot 45.7% from the field on 21 out of 46 shooting. They also recorded 13 assists for this contest while forcing 9 turnovers and earning 6 steals. Pertaining to hauling in rebounds, they collected 36 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Buckeyes made 17 of their 23 attempts for a percentage of 73.9%. Ohio State finished the contest with a 46.8% field goal percentage (29 of 62) and converted 8 of their 22 3-pointers.

John Mobley Jr. is one player who played a role in this game. He accounted for 19 points on 6 of 14 shooting. He saw the court for 35 mins and grabbed 6 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 42.9% from the floor and dished out 8 dimes.

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Ohio State comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 13-8 for the season. They turn the ball over 11.4 times per game and as a team they are committing 19.9 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Ohio State is grabbing 35.6 boards per game and has 290 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 197th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Buckeyes are hitting 37.4% on shots from beyond the arc (170 of 455) and 73.4% from the free throw line. They average 80.0 pts per contest (55th in the country) on 48.2% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Buckeyes are forcing their opponents into 11.8 turnovers every game and they draw 18.9 personal fouls. They are giving up 29.2% on shots from distance and they are 158th in college hoops in PPG allowed (70.7). The Buckeyes defense is allowing a FG percentage of 40.1% (492 of 1,226) and they concede 33.2 rebounds per contest as a group. They rank 44th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 233 relinquished so far this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 80-74 against Nebraska. The Fighting Illini recorded 37 defensive boards and 18 offensive rebounds totaling 55 for the contest. They turned the ball over 17 times, while earning 3 steals in this game. Nebraska was called for 18 fouls for this game which got the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 18 shots. They were able to bury 12 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 66.7%. In regard to 3-point shots, Illinois made 10 out of their 42 tries (23.8%). When this game wrapped up, the Fighting Illini finished the game shooting 26 out of 73 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 35.6%. The Fighting Illini allowed Nebraska to convert 31 of 78 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 39.7% for this contest. They finished 25.0% from beyond the arc by shooting 5 out of 20 and ended up shooting 13 of 18 from the free throw line (72.2%). Concerning team rebounding, Illinois allowed Nebraska to grab 37 in total (9 offensive).

Kasparas Jakucionis was important for the Fighting Illini for the game. He made 6 of 15 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 40.0%, and had 13 rebounds. He racked up 18 points in his 36 mins of playing time and tallied 4 assists for the game.

Illinois has a win-loss record of 14-7 this season. The Fighting Illini are committing 16.3 personal fouls every game and they hit 75.3% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.9 times per game (110th in college) and they turn it over 12.1 times per game. Illinois has accounted for 1,789 pts so far this year (85.2 per game) and they pull in 45.6 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 44.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 224th in the country.

The Illinois defense surrenders 28.4% from downtown (118 of 416) and opponents are connecting on 68.8% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 11.2 assists and 33.9 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 52nd and 145th in D-1. The Fighting Illini on defense are ranked 131st in D-1 in PPG given up with 70.0. They are forcing 10.2 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 39.7% from the field (26th in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Ohio State

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