Illinois Fighting Illini vs Wisconsin Badgers Prediction, 2/27/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Wisconsin Badgers

Date: Saturday, February 27, 2021

Location: Kohl Center in Madison, WI

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Illinois (+1)

The Wisconsin Badgers (16-8) host the Illinois Fighting Illini (17-6) at Kohl Center on Saturday. Illinois opens this game as 1-point dogs. The over/under has been set at 138.

Illinois will play this game with a win-loss record of 17-6 for the campaign. The Fighting Illini are shooting 37.8% on three-point attempts (165 of 437) and 68.7% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 81.5 points per contest (16th in Division 1) while going 50.0% from the floor. They are turning it over 13.3 times per contest and as a unit are committing 17.8 fouls per game. As a unit, Illinois is snagging 40.1 boards per contest and has accumulated 386 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 14th in D-1 in terms of passing. On defense, the Fighting Illini are forcing 12.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.9 fouls. The Fighting Illini defensively are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 41.5% (578 of 1,394) and they relinquish 30.3 boards per contest as a team. They are 185th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 260 surrendered so far this season. They concede 33.3% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 142nd in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (69.2).

The Illinois Fighting Illini took the court against the Nebraska Cornhuskers and notched a win by a score of 86-70 in their last game. Illinois finished the contest with a 48.4% field goal percentage (30 out of 62) and buried 4 of their 23 3-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini buried 22 of their 29 shots for a percentage of 75.9%. Regarding hauling in boards, they earned a total of 43 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 13 dimes for this game in addition to creating 16 turnovers and earning 8 steals. In terms of defending, Illinois allowed the other team to go 44.3% from the field on 27 out of 61 shooting. Nebraska earned 8 assists and had 4 steals for this contest. On top of that, Nebraska snagged 25 rebounds (3 offensive, 22 defensive) and earned 2 blocked shots. Nebraska walked away from this one shooting 68.8% at the free throw line by knocking down 11 of 16 attempts. They knocked down 5 of their 21 shots from 3-point land.

Kofi Cockburn is one player who was a contributor in this contest. He walked away with 24 points on 8 of 10 shooting. He saw the court for 25 minutes played and totaled 7 boards. Cockburn finished 80.0% from the floor but finished the game without a dime. Another guy that was a major factor in the game for the Fighting Illini was Adam Miller. He pulled down 4 rebounds in his 28 min played. He finished the game at 53.3% from the floor in this contest by going 8-of-15 (18 points). When the final whistle was blown, Miller finished the game without a dime.

Wisconsin has a mark of 16-8 so far this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Badgers are hitting on 42.3% from the field, which is 266th in college basketball. Wisconsin has tallied 1,676 pts for the season (69.8 per contest) and they grab 34.5 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.3 times per game (159th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 9.0 times per game. The Badgers are responsible for committing 15.8 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 75.6% from the charity stripe. The Badgers are ranked 22nd in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 62.7. They have given up 11.5 assists and 34.7 rebounds per game, which is ranked 78th and 169th in those categories on the defensive end. The Wisconsin defense surrenders 33.5% on shots from distance (155 of 463) and their opposition makes 70.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have forced 11.8 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 41.2% from the floor (72nd in D-1).

The last time they took the court, the Wisconsin Badgers went home victorious with a score of 68-51 when they played the Northwestern Wildcats. The Badgers corralled 25 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 in this contest. They coughed up the ball 8 times, while getting 10 steals in this game. The Wildcats were called for 12 fouls in this contest which took the Badgers to the free throw line for 15 attempts. They were able to knock down 13 of the free throw tries for a clip of 86.7%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Wisconsin converted 9 of their 25 attempts (36.0%). When all was said and done, the Badgers finished shooting 23 for 56 from the floor which had them sitting at 41.1%. The Badgers allowed the Wildcats to make 20 out of their 50 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 40.0% for the matchup. They finished shooting 30.0% from downtown by shooting 6 of 20 and finished the game at 5 out of 8 from the free throw line (62.5%). When it comes to how they cleaned up the glass, Wisconsin permitted Northwestern to grab 25 overall (3 on the offensive side).

D'Mitrik Trice ended up being important for the Badgers for the contest. He buried 5 out of 6 in this matchup for a rate of 83.3%, and had 5 rebounds. Trice earned 13 points in his 34 minutes of playing time and had 5 dimes for the contest. Another guy that ended being a contributor for Wisconsin was Brad Davison. He ended up walking away with 3 assists in 33 mins on the hardwood, and he shot 3 of 10 from the floor. Davison finished going 30.0% from the field while also collecting 12 points and 6 rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Illinois (+1) and under 138 points

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