Illinois Fighting Illini vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 2/14/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Illinois Fighting Illini (17-7) are traveling to Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday where they will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (14-11).

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced off with Rutgers and took home the win by a score of 69-60 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Fighting Illini walked away with 11 while Rutgers totaled 14 personal fouls. They also buried 4 out of their 16 attempts from beyond the arc. Rutgers finished the contest at 66.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 8 of their 12 attempts. In addition, Rutgers grabbed 31 rebounds (12 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Rutgers earned 7 assists and had 9 steals for this contest. In regard to defense, Illinois allowed their opponent to shoot 34.8% from the floor on 24 out of 69 shooting. They also distributed 9 assists in the game in addition to forcing 8 turnovers and earning 3 steals. With regard to getting rebounds, they earned a total of 37 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Fighting Illini knocked down 10 of their 15 attempts for a rate of 66.7%. Illinois finished the game having earned a 48.2% FG percentage (27 of 56) and converted 5 out of their 20 3-pointers.

Coleman Hawkins is someone who came through in this matchup. He finished 61.5% from the floor and dished out 4 assists. He saw the court for 37 mins and also collected 8 boards. He ended up finishing with 18 points on 8 out of 13 shooting.

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Illinois enters this contest with a mark of 17-7 so far this year. They have an average of 74.9 pts per contest (111th in Division 1) while hitting 45.6% from the floor. The Fighting Illini are hitting 31.5% on 3-pointers (191 of 606) and 67.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Illinois is grabbing 38.9 boards per game and is sitting with 318 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 251st in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 13.6 times per game and as a squad they are committing 16.5 fouls per game.

When they are on defense, the Fighting Illini are able to force 13.8 turnovers per game while drawing 18.3 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 32.1% on shots from downtown while they are 39th in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (63.9). The Fighting Illini defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 39.8% (554 of 1,393) and they surrender 32.8 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 24th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 254 relinquished for the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Penn State Nittany Lions walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 74-68 against Maryland. The Nittany Lions were able to collect 18 defensive rebounds and 2 offensive boards for a total of 20 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 4 steals in the matchup. Maryland committed 12 fouls in this contest which got the Nittany Lions to the charity stripe for a total of 4 shots. They were able to make 2 of the free throws for a percentage of 50.0%. Concerning three-point attempts, Penn State made 12 of their 26 tries (46.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Nittany Lions ended up going 27 out of 53 from the floor which had them shooting 50.9%. The Nittany Lions allowed Maryland to make 25 of their 47 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 53.2% for this game. They finished 37.5% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 6 of 16 and ended up shooting 18 out of 23 from the charity stripe (78.3%). In reference to team rebounding, Penn State permitted Maryland to get 26 in total (4 offensive).

Kanye Clary ended up being important for the Nittany Lions in this contest. He scored 17 points in his 23 minutes on the hardwood and earned 2 dimes in this game. He made 8 out of 11 in the game giving him a rate of 72.7%, and accumulated 1 rebound.

Penn State has a record of 14-11 this year. The Nittany Lions have committed 15.8 fouls per contest and they go 75.1% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 14.5 times per game (90th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 8.9 times per contest. Penn State has earned 1,810 pts for the year (72.4 per game) and they snag 32.2 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Nittany Lions are shooting 46.3% from the field, which ranks 82nd in the country.

The Nittany Lions on the defensive end are ranked 138th in Division 1 in points given up per game with 68.2. They are forcing their opponents into 9.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 43.3% from the floor (168th in the nation). The Penn State defense allows 34.7% on shots from beyond the arc (191 of 551) and opponents are making 69.5% of their free throw shots. They allow 14.0 dimes and 35.2 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 281st and 258th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois

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