Penn State Nittany Lions vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 1/19/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Penn State (+8)

State Farm Center is the site where and the Illinois Fighting Illini (9-5) will play the Penn State Nittany Lions (3-5) on Tuesday. Penn State opens this matchup as 8-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 152.5.

Penn State heads into this game with a win-loss record of 3-5 this season. They are averaging 77.6 pts per contest (81st in college basketball) while connecting on 42.8% from the field. The Nittany Lions are shooting 35.5% on shots from beyond the arc (81 of 228) and 70.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, Penn State is pulling down 36.3 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 111 dimes for the season, which is 284th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 11.0 times per game and as a unit they commit 21.1 fouls every game. On the defensive end, the Nittany Lions are able to force 14.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.1 fouls. They rank 76th in D-1 in giving up assists with 108 conceded on the campaign. The Nittany Lions are giving up a field goal percentage of 47.1% (212 of 450) and they relinquish 36.1 rebounds per game as a group. They give up 29.2% on shots from downtown while they are 304th in college basketball in opponents PPG (76.8).

The Penn State Nittany Lions faced the Purdue Boilermakers and took a loss by a final of 80-72 in their last game. Penn State walked away from the contest with a 32.9% FG percentage (27 of 82) and buried 10 of their 39 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Nittany Lions buried 8 of 13 shots for a percentage of 61.5%. Pertaining to hauling in boards, they earned a total of 43 with 18 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 11 dimes for the game while getting 7 steals and 3 rejections. With regard to defense, Penn State allowed their opponent to shoot 32.9% from the field on 27 out of 82 shooting. Purdue recorded 12 assists and had 5 steals in the matchup. In addition, the Boilermakers collected 43 rebounds (13 offensive, 30 defensive) and had 3 blocked shots. Purdue finished shooting 72.7% when shooting free throws by knocking down 24 of their 33 attempts. They knocked down 6 out of their 32 tries from beyond the arc.

Myreon Jones is one player who was a major factor in the game. He accumulated 23 points on 9 out of 22 shooting. He played 34 minutes played and also snagged 2 rebounds. Jones shot 40.9% from the floor and dished out 2 assists. Someone else that was a major factor in this contest for the Nittany Lions was John Harrar. He pulled down 14 rebounds and also earned 3 assists. He went 71.4% from the field in the game by going 5-of-7 (14 points). Overall, Harrar saw the court for 27 minutes.

Illinois has a win-loss mark of 9-5 for the year. Illinois has accumulated 1,164 pts this year (83.1 per contest) and they snag 40.9 rebounds per contest. The Fighting Illini are committing 18.1 personal fouls every game and they connect on 68.8% from the free throw line. As an offensive unit, the Fighting Illini are shooting 51.3% from the field, which ranks 20th in Division 1. Their rate of earning assists is at 17.3 times per contest (28th in D-1) and they are giving up possession 13.3 times per contest. The Fighting Illini on the defensive side of the court are 147th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 69.1. They have forced 11.5 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 41.2% from the floor (100th in the country). The Illinois defense allows 33.2% on 3-point shots (96 of 289) and their opponents are making 67.2% of their free throw attempts. They allow 11.4 assists and 28.9 total boards per game, which has them ranked 78th and 12th in college hoops.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Illinois Fighting Illini walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 87-81 when they faced the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Fighting Illini pulled down 18 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in the game. They stuffed 2 shots while earning 6 steals in this matchup. The Buckeyes were called for 20 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Fighting Illini to the charity stripe for a total of 20 tries. They were able to knock down 14 of them for a percentage of 70.0%. With respect to shooting from 3-point land, Illinois converted 9 of 26 attempts (34.6%). In all, the Fighting Illini shot 29 for 60 from the field which had them shooting 48.3%. The Fighting Illini permitted the Buckeyes to make 29 out of their 54 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 53.7% for the game. They went 52.4% from downtown by hitting 11 out of 21 and ended up going 18 of 23 at the charity stripe (78.3%). With respect to how they rebounded, Illinois permitted Ohio State to snag 27 in total (6 offensive).

Ayo Dosunmu was important for the Fighting Illini for the contest. He buried 6 of 16 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 37.5%, which had him finishing with 22 points. Dosunmu grabbed 4 boards in his 35 mins played and had 5 dimes for this game. One more player who came through for Illinois was Kofi Cockburn. He walked away with 15 points in his 31 minutes on the court by going 7 out of 7 from the floor for the matchup. Cockburn ended the game having shot 100.0% from the field while collecting 2 assists and 11 boards.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Illinois (-8)

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