Illinois Fighting Illini vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 12/6/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Friday, December 6, 2024

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: BTN

The Illinois Fighting Illini (6-1) are hitting the road to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Friday where they will take on the Northwestern Wildcats (6-3).

The Illinois Fighting Illini played Arkansas and went home with a win by a final score of 90-77 in their last contest. Illinois wrapped up the game having earned a 52.6% FG percentage (30 out of 57) and made 15 out of their 31 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Fighting Illini made 15 of 22 tries for a percentage of 68.2%. Pertaining to rebounding, they earned 30 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 16 assists for the matchup while forcing 11 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Regarding defending, Illinois allowed their opponent to shoot 48.3% from the field on 28 of 58 shooting. Arkansas recorded 12 assists and had 7 steals for this game. In addition, Arkansas snagged 28 rebounds (8 offensive, 20 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Arkansas walked away from this one shooting 59.3% at the charity stripe by making 16 of their 27 attempts. They converted 5 out of their 17 attempts from beyond the perimeter. In regard to personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up with 22 while Arkansas recorded 20 personal fouls.

Kasparas Jakucionis is a guy who came through in this game. He finished shooting 53.8% from the field and recorded 4 dimes. He was on the court for 35 minutes and also totaled 6 boards. He ended up walking away with 23 points on 7 out of 13 shooting.

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Illinois enters this game with a win-loss record of 6-1 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 89.1 points per outing (9th in the nation) while connecting on 45.8% from the field. The Fighting Illini are connecting on 35.0% on 3-pointers (83 of 237) and 70.2% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Illinois is pulling in 47.9 rebounds per game and has accumulated 108 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 248th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 11.0 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 15.0 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Fighting Illini have forced 11.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.9 personal fouls. They are conceding 26.0% on 3-pointers and they are 22nd in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (61.4). The Fighting Illini are giving up a shooting percentage of 36.2% (163 of 450) and they relinquish 32.6 rebounds per contest as a team. They are ranked 9th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 68 conceded so far this year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Northwestern Wildcats took a defeat with a final score of 80-79 against Iowa. Concerning cleaning the glass, Northwestern allowed Iowa to get 24 in all (4 on the offensive glass). They shot 39.1% from distance by connecting on 9 of 23 and ended up shooting 11 out of 19 at the free throw line (57.9%). The Wildcats permitted Iowa to convert 30 of 55 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.5% in the game. When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats shot 29 for 60 from the field which had them shooting 48.3%. When it comes to 3-point attempts, Northwestern converted 8 of 21 tries (38.1%). They were able to knock down 13 of those for a percentage of 81.3%. Iowa was called for 14 fouls for the contest which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for 16 shots. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 8 steals for this game. The Wildcats pulled down 24 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards totaling 32 in the matchup.

Brooks Barnhizer ended up being a factor for the Wildcats for the contest. He racked up 21 points in his 38 mins on the court and earned 3 dimes for the contest. He knocked down 7 of 13 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 53.8%, and had 10 rebounds.

Northwestern has a mark of 6-3 so far this season. The Wildcats commit 17.8 fouls every game and they hit 74.0% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 14.2 times per game (179th in D-1) and they cough up possession 10.2 times per contest. Northwestern has 660 points so far this season (73.3 per contest) and they pull down 36.1 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are shooting 44.9% from the field, which ranks them 192nd in Division 1.

The Northwestern defense allows 31.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (56 of 179) and opponents are knocking down 67.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 14.7 assists and 31.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 291st and 66th in D-1. The Wildcats on the defensive side of the court are 46th in the country in points allowed per game with 64.4. They are able to force 13.7 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 42.9% from the floor (201st in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northwestern

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