Missouri Tigers vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 12/22/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Missouri Tigers vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Monday, December 22, 2025

Location: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO

TV: ESPN+

Enterprise Center is the site where the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-3) will attempt to defeat the Missouri Tigers (10-2) on Monday.

The Missouri Tigers played Bethune-Cookman and went home with a win by a final score of 82-60 in their last contest. Missouri finished the contest with a 57.6% field goal percentage (34 of 59) and converted 7 of their 19 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Tigers converted 7 of 11 attempts for a rate of 63.6%. With regard to getting rebounds, they earned a total of 30 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 16 assists in this contest as well as creating 14 turnovers and having 10 steals. Concerning the defense, Missouri allowed 42.2% from the field on 19 of 45 shooting. Bethune-Cookman doled out 6 dimes and had 10 steals for the matchup. On top of that, Bethune-Cookman grabbed 19 rebounds (4 offensive, 15 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Bethune-Cookman finished shooting 76.2% at the free throw line by making 16 of their 21 tries. They also converted 6 of their 12 shots from beyond the perimeter. When talking about personal fouls, the Tigers left the arena with 19 while Bethune-Cookman racked up 12 personal fouls.

Jacob Crews is one player who was a major contributor in this contest. He finished the game at 88.9% from the field and distributed 1 assist. He was on the court for 32 minutes and pulled down 5 boards. He ended up walking away with 20 points on 8 of 9 shooting.

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Missouri comes into this contest with a mark of 10-2 this year. They lose possession via turnover 13.3 times per contest and as a team are committing 17.6 fouls per contest. As a team, Missouri is pulling in 38.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 190 assists this season, which ranks 78th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Tigers are connecting on 37.4% on shots from downtown (96 of 257) and 68.0% from the free throw line. They are averaging 86.8 pts per contest (50th in Division 1) while connecting on 53.7% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Tigers are forcing 13.1 turnovers per game while drawing 19.0 personal fouls. They are giving up 35.8% on 3-point attempts and they are 106th in college hoops in PPG allowed (69.8). The Tigers defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 40.8% (281 of 688) and they surrender 28.5 boards per game as a group. They are 140th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 145 conceded for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini took a defeat with a final score of 83-80 against Nebraska. The Fighting Illini earned 21 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in this game. They turned the ball over 8 times, while recording 2 steals for the game. Nebraska was called for 21 fouls for the matchup which took the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 20 tries. They were able to make 14 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 70.0%. Concerning shots from downtown, Illinois converted 10 of 29 tries (34.5%). When the final whistle was blown, the Fighting Illini went 28 out of 58 from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.3%. The Fighting Illini allowed Nebraska to bury 32 out of 62 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 51.6% for the contest. They finished 46.2% from three-point range by shooting 12 out of 26 and walked away from this one shooting 7 out of 8 at the free throw line (87.5%). With respect to attacking the glass, Illinois permitted Nebraska to snag 26 in total (8 on the offensive side).

Kylan Boswell pitched in for the Fighting Illini for this contest. He racked up 20 points in his 37 mins of playing time and accounted for 3 dimes for the contest. He converted 5 out of 9 for the game for a field goal rate of 55.6%, and tallied 3 rebounds.

Illinois has a record of 8-3 this season. The Fighting Illini are responsible for committing 13.8 fouls per contest and they hit 78.2% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.4 times per game (194th in college) and they turn it over 9.5 times per game. Illinois has accounted for 966 points for the year (87.8 per game) and they pull in 41.6 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Fighting Illini are connecting on 47.8% from the field, which is ranked 79th in the country.

The Illinois defense gives up 33.2% on three-point shots (94 of 283) and their opponents are making 69.1% of their foul shots. They concede 13.1 dimes and 31.5 rebounds per contest, which ranks 166th and 57th in the nation. The Fighting Illini on the defensive end are ranked 144th in D-1 in points given up per game with 71.5. They are forcing 8.7 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.4% from the floor (94th in the nation).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois

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