UCLA Bruins vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 2/11/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCLA Bruins vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: Peacock

The Illinois Fighting Illini (16-8) will play the UCLA Bruins (18-6) at State Farm Center on Tuesday.

The UCLA Bruins took the court against Penn State and walked away with a win by a score of 78-54 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Bruins walked away with 12 while Penn State had 12 fouls. They also knocked down 5 out of their 21 tries from downtown. Penn State finished shooting 91.7% from the free throw line by burying 11 of 12 shots. Additionally, Penn State grabbed 31 boards (7 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Penn State distributed 7 dimes and had 1 steal in the matchup. When it comes to the defense, UCLA allowed the other team to go 38.0% from the field on 19 of 50 shooting. They also distributed 21 assists in the game as well as creating 17 turnovers and getting 13 steals. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 32 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Bruins knocked down 11 of 15 shots for a percentage of 73.3%. UCLA wrapped up the game having earned a 47.0% field goal percentage (31 of 66) and made 5 of 19 shots from 3-point land.

Kobe Johnson is one guy who was a major factor in this matchup. He scored 15 points on 7 of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 minutes played and grabbed 13 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 58.3% from the field and earned 6 dimes.

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UCLA will take the court with a mark of 18-6 on the year. They are averaging 75.5 points per outing (148th in the nation) while shooting 46.8% from the floor. The Bruins are connecting on 34.0% on three-point shots (169 of 497) and 70.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, UCLA is pulling in 32.5 boards per contest and has totaled 382 dimes this year, which is 58th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 10.6 times per contest and as a squad are committing 17.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Bruins are forcing their opponents into 16.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.3 fouls. They concede 31.5% on three-point shots and they are 18th in the nation in points per game allowed (63.9). The Bruins defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 42.4% (517 of 1,218) and they relinquish 31.4 rebounds per game as a team. They are 137th in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 300 relinquished on the season.

The last time they took the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini went home victorious with a score of 95-74 when they played Minnesota. Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, Illinois allowed Minnesota to grab 20 in total (8 offensive). They went 40.0% from behind the 3-point line by going 8 of 20 and walked away from this one shooting 12 of 14 at the charity stripe (85.7%). The Fighting Illini allowed Minnesota to knock down 27 out of 66 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 40.9% in the matchup. Overall, the Fighting Illini finished the game shooting 36 for 57 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 63.2%. In reference to shots from distance, Illinois knocked down 9 of 16 tries (56.3%). They were able to make 14 of those for a rate of 87.5%. Minnesota committed 15 fouls for this contest which got the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 16 tries. They also turned it over 6 times, while earning 1 steal in the game. The Fighting Illini corralled 28 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 37 for this game.

Will Riley ended up being important for the Fighting Illini for the contest. He tallied 27 points in his 31 mins on the hardwood and had 7 dimes for the matchup. He knocked down 11 out of 17 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 64.7%, and had 9 rebounds.

Illinois has a win-loss mark of 16-8 on the year. The Fighting Illini are committing 16.5 fouls every game and they connect on 75.4% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 14.9 times per game (106th in the nation) and they cough up possession 11.8 times per contest. Illinois has 2,044 pts for the year (85.2 per game) and they grab 45.0 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 45.0% from the floor, which ranks 176th in the nation.

The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 169th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 71.0. They have forced 9.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 39.6% from the floor (19th in college). The Illinois defense surrenders 30.1% on 3-point shots (143 of 475) and opponents are knocking down 71.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 11.2 dimes and 33.7 rebounds per game, which ranks them 45th and 144th in those categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois

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