Illinois Fighting Illini vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 3/2/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Location: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Illinois (+7)

The Michigan Wolverines (18-1) host the Illinois Fighting Illini (18-6) at Crisler Center on Tuesday. The spread on this matchup has Michigan as 7-point favorites. The total has been set at 147.5.

Illinois heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 18-6 this year. They are averaging 81.2 pts per game (17th in Division 1) on 50.1% from the field. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 38.1% on shots from distance (170 of 446) and 68.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Illinois is grabbing 40.2 boards per game and has racked up 399 assists on the campaign, which is 13th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 13.6 times per game and as a squad they are committing 17.8 fouls every game. On defense, the Fighting Illini are forcing 12.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.8 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 33.2% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 143rd in Division 1 in PPG allowed (69.2). The Fighting Illini are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 41.1% (602 of 1,463) and they relinquish 30.3 boards per game as a unit. They are 177th in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 270 relinquished this year.

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced off with the Wisconsin Badgers and walked away with a win by a score of 74-69 in their last contest. Illinois walked away from the contest with a 52.1% FG percentage (25 out of 48) and buried 5 out of their 9 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini converted 19 of their 27 attempts for a rate of 70.4%. Regarding rebounding, they earned 39 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 13 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In reference to defending, Illinois allowed the other team to shoot 34.8% from the field on 24 out of 69 shooting. Wisconsin doled out 10 dimes and had 13 steals for the contest. Moreover, Wisconsin collected 27 rebounds (11 offensive, 16 defensive) and added 3 blocks. Wisconsin finished shooting 73.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 11 of their 15 tries. They knocked down 10 out of their 31 attempts from 3-point range.

Kofi Cockburn is one player who played a role for this contest. He accounted for 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He was on the court for 25 minutes played and also grabbed 7 rebounds. Cockburn ended up going 53.8% from the floor but wasn't able to get an assist. Another guy that was a major contributor in this contest for the Fighting Illini was Da'Monte Williams. He grabbed 4 rebounds in 28 minutes played on the night. He ended up going 66.7% from the floor for the game by shooting 4-of-6 (12 points). When this game wrapped up, Williams had 4 assists.

Michigan has a mark of 18-1 this year. The Wolverines are responsible for committing 14.7 personal fouls every game and they shoot 77.6% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 16.1 times per contest (38th in the country) and they turn it over 11.7 times per contest. Michigan has earned 1,498 points this year (78.8 per game) and they collect 38.9 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Wolverines are hitting on 49.7% from the floor, which ranks 24th in the country. The Wolverines are ranked 55th in college basketball in points given up per game with 65.2. The Michigan defense gives up 32.7% on 3-pointers (129 of 394) and opponents are making 75.9% of their foul shots. They give up 9.8 assists and 30.5 boards per game, which is 14th and 24th in college basketball. They are forcing 10.2 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 38.4% from the floor (4th in D-1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Michigan Wolverines went home victorious with a score of 73-57 against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Wolverines were able to pull down 27 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 34 for this contest. They turned it over 11 times, while recording 8 steals for this game. The Hoosiers earned 15 personal fouls in the game which took the Wolverines to the free throw line for a total of 19 tries. They were able to make 17 of them for a rate of 89.5%. In reference to three-point shots, Michigan made 8 of 21 attempts (38.1%). When all was said and done, the Wolverines ended up shooting 24 out of 53 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.3%. The Wolverines permitted the Hoosiers to make 20 out of their 52 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 38.5% for the contest. They finished the game shooting 26.7% from three-point range by going 4 of 15 and finished the contest at 13 out of 17 from the free throw line (76.5%). When discussing rebounding, Michigan permitted Indiana to grab 26 overall (7 on the offensive glass).

Franz Wagner was important for the Wolverines in the game. He converted 6 out of 9 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and tallied 6 rebounds. Wagner scored 21 points in his 35 minutes of playing time and had 1 assist in the game. An additional guy that played a role for Michigan was Isaiah Livers. He wrapped the game up with 1 assist in his 27 mins played, and he shot 5 of 11 from the floor. Livers ended the game having shot 45.5% from the floor as well as totaling 16 points and 10 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Michigan (-7)

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