Ohio State Buckeyes vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 1/16/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Ohio State Buckeyes vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Saturday, January 16, 2021

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Ohio State (+6)

The Ohio State Buckeyes (10-3) travel to State Farm Center on Saturday where they'll meet the Illinois Fighting Illini (9-4). The odds on this matchup have Illinois as 6-point favorites. The total opens at 147.

Ohio State comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 10-3 this season. They currently have an average of 76.8 points per contest (96th in D-1) while connecting on 44.5% from the field. The Buckeyes are hitting 32.8% on 3-pointers (98 of 299) and 75.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Ohio State is pulling down 38.8 boards per game and is sitting with 171 assists for the year, which has them ranked 80th in the country in terms of passing. They are turning it over 9.8 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 16.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis. On defense, the Buckeyes have forced 10.9 turnovers every game and they draw 20.5 personal fouls. They rank 278th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 166 conceded for the year. The Buckeyes defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 40.6% (306 of 753) and they surrender 33.1 rebounds per game as a unit. They give up 33.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 92nd in college basketball in points per game allowed (66.7).

The Ohio State Buckeyes faced off with the Northwestern Wildcats and went home with a win by a final score of 81-71 in their last contest. Ohio State walked away from the game having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (27 out of 54) and converted 10 of their 25 shots from distance. At the charity stripe, the Buckeyes knocked down 17 of 25 tries for a percentage of 68.0%. With respect to hauling in boards, they collected a total of 37 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 12 dimes in the game as well as earning 2 steals and 2 blocked shots. In reference to the defense, Ohio State allowed their opponent to shoot 50.0% from the field on 27 out of 54 shooting. Northwestern distributed 9 assists and had 5 steals for this game. Additionally, the Wildcats pulled down 31 rebounds (6 offensive, 25 defensive) and added 2 rejections. Northwestern finished the game shooting 71.4% from the charity stripe by converting 15 of their 21 attempts. They also converted 6 of 23 tries from 3-point range.

Duane Washington Jr. is one guy who was a major contributor in the matchup. He had 23 points on 7 of 17 shooting. He was on the court for 36 minutes and also snagged 3 rebounds. Jr. shot 41.2% from the floor and earned 6 assists. An additional guy that was a factor in this matchup for the Buckeyes was Justice Sueing. He pulled down 7 boards and also accounted for 2 assists. He finished 55.6% from the floor in the matchup by shooting 5-of-9 (13 points). In all, Sueing saw the court for 34 min.

Illinois has a mark of 9-4 for the campaign. In terms of offensive execution, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 51.5% from the field, which is ranked 19th in the nation. Illinois has accounted for 1,083 pts on the campaign (83.3 per game) and they pull down 41.8 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 17.5 times per contest (24th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 13.5 times per game. The Fighting Illini have committed 17.9 personal fouls every game while shooting 68.7% from the free throw line. The Fighting Illini are ranked 125th in college basketball in PPG given up with 67.8. They surrender 11.3 assists and 29.0 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 78th and 11th in those categories on the defensive end. The Illinois defense allows 31.7% on three-point shots (85 of 268) and their opponents are converting on 66.1% of their free throw attempts. They are able to force 11.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 40.3% from the floor (64th in college hoops).

When they last stepped on the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini took a loss by a final score of 66-63 against the Maryland Terrapins. The Fighting Illini snagged 26 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 34 in this game. They stuffed 2 shots while recording 7 steals in this contest. The Terrapins were called for 13 fouls in the game which got the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 12 tries. They were able to knock down 8 of them for a clip of 66.7%. In regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Illinois converted 5 of 15 attempts (33.3%). Overall, the Fighting Illini finished 25 out of 61 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.0%. The Fighting Illini permitted the Terrapins to convert 22 of 55 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.0% for the contest. They wrapped up this game 40.0% from 3-point land by shooting 8 of 20 and walked away from this one shooting 14 of 17 at the free throw line (82.4%). Concerning how they attacked the glass, Illinois permitted Maryland to collect 29 overall (7 offensive).

Ayo Dosunmu was important for the Fighting Illini in the game. He knocked down 9 of 23 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 39.1%, which got him 23 points. Dosunmu collected 8 rebounds in his 40 mins and had 2 assists for this game. Someone else who came through for Illinois was Kofi Cockburn. He walked away with 21 points in 33 minutes played by going 8 of 10 from the floor for this contest. Cockburn ended up shooting 80.0% from the field while also earning 2 assists and 10 boards.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Ohio State (+6)

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