Illinois Fighting Illini vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, 3/6/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Ohio State Buckeyes

Date: Saturday, March 6, 2021

Location: Value City Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Illinois (+1.5)

Value City Arena is the venue where and the Ohio State Buckeyes (18-7) will play the Illinois Fighting Illini (19-6) on Saturday. The spread on this game has Ohio State as 1.5-point favorites. The O/U is set at 150.

Illinois will enter this game with a win-loss mark of 19-6 this season. The Fighting Illini are shooting 38.3% on shots from distance (176 of 459) and 68.9% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 81.0 points per contest (19th in D-1) while connecting on 49.9% from the field. They lose possession via turnover 13.6 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 17.9 personal fouls per game. As a unit, Illinois is pulling in 40.3 rebounds per game and has racked up 408 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 14th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. On the defensive end of the court, the Fighting Illini are able to force 11.9 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.6 fouls. They concede 33.1% on 3-pointers and they are 130th in Division 1 in points per game from their opponents (68.5). The Fighting Illini are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 40.9% (619 of 1,512) and they concede 30.2 boards per game as a team. They currently rank 166th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 274 surrendered this season.

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced off with the Michigan Wolverines and earned the victory with a final of 76-53 in their last game. Illinois finished the game with a 46.9% FG percentage (30 of 64) and knocked down 6 of 13 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini knocked down 10 of their 14 tries for a rate of 71.4%. In the matter of pulling down rebounds, they earned 40 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 9 assists for this contest as well as creating 10 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In relation to defense, Illinois let their opponent shoot 34.7% from the floor on 17 of 49 shooting. Michigan doled out 4 dimes and had 5 steals in this matchup. Additionally, Michigan collected 24 rebounds (3 offensive, 21 defensive) and had 4 blocks. Michigan ended up shooting 70.8% from the free throw line by making 17 of their 24 tries. They also converted 2 of their 7 tries from beyond the perimeter.

Trent Frazier is a guy who was a contributor in this matchup. He ended up finishing with 22 points on 7 out of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins and also pulled down 4 rebounds. Frazier shot 38.9% from the field and also totaled 1 assist. One more player that was a determining factor in this contest for the Fighting Illini was Kofi Cockburn. He had 7 rebounds in 22 minutes played. He walked away from this one shooting 60.0% from the floor for this game by shooting 6-of-10 (12 points). In all, Cockburn had no assists.

Ohio State has a win-loss record of 18-7 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Buckeyes are connecting on 46.3% from the floor, which has them ranked 75th in college basketball. Ohio State has 1,930 points for the campaign (77.2 per contest) and they average 36.0 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 12.8 times per game (211th in Division 1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.5 times per contest. The Buckeyes have committed 17.8 fouls every game and they hit 77.2% from the free throw line. The Buckeyes on defense are ranked 167th in D-1 in points given up per game with 69.8. The Ohio State defense gives up 34.4% on 3-point attempts (191 of 555) and their opposition knocks down 70.8% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 13.6 dimes and 32.7 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 228th and 84th in college hoops. They are forcing their opponents into 10.5 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.5% from the floor (146th in the nation).

The last time they took the court, the Ohio State Buckeyes took a loss by a final score of 73-57 when they faced the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Buckeyes were able to collect 26 defensive boards and 2 offensive rebounds totaling 28 for the matchup. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while earning 3 steals in the matchup. The Hawkeyes committed 13 personal fouls in this game which took the Buckeyes to the charity stripe for 10 attempts. They were able to make 6 of those for a rate of 60.0%. Pertaining to shooting from distance, Ohio State buried 5 out of 17 attempts (29.4%). When this game wrapped up, the Buckeyes shot 23 out of 51 from the field which gave them a rate of 45.1%. The Buckeyes allowed the Hawkeyes to convert 29 out of 62 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.8% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 41.7% from downtown via 10 of 24 and finished the contest at 5 of 9 from the free throw line (55.6%). When it comes to how they rebounded, Ohio State permitted Iowa to collect 31 in total (5 on the offensive glass).

E.J. Liddell was important for the Buckeyes for this game. He converted 7 out of 11 in this contest for a field goal rate of 63.6%, and had 3 rebounds. Liddell racked up 15 points in his 32 mins on the hardwood and had 1 assist for the contest. Another guy who came through for Ohio State was Justice Sueing. He walked away with no assists in his 20 minutes on the hardwood, and he put in 4 out of 8 from the floor. Sueing walked away from this one going 50.0% from the floor as well as collecting 12 points and 1 rebound.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois (+1.5)

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