Northwestern Wildcats vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 1/26/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds
Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Illinois Fighting Illini
Date: Sunday, January 26, 2025
Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL
TV: BTN
State Farm Center is the site where the Illinois Fighting Illini (13-6) will try to beat the Northwestern Wildcats (12-7) on Sunday.

The Northwestern Wildcats faced Indiana and notched a win by a score of 79-70 in their last contest. Northwestern finished having earned a 48.3% FG percentage (28 out of 58) and converted 13 out of their 27 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats knocked down 10 of their 17 shots for a percentage of 58.8%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 31 with 12 of them being offensive. They also recorded 18 assists for the matchup as well as creating 17 turnovers and having 11 steals. In relation to defense, Northwestern let their opponent shoot 42.1% from the field on 24 out of 57 shooting. Indiana distributed 17 assists and had 7 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Indiana collected 28 rebounds (9 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't have a block. Indiana shot 76.5% at the charity stripe by making 13 of their 17 attempts. They made 9 out of their 20 attempts from beyond the perimeter. With respect to fouls, the Wildcats finished with 16 while Indiana recorded 17 fouls.
Ty Berry is a guy who was a major contributor for the matchup. He finished the game shooting 61.5% from the floor and also distributed 1 assist. He played 32 mins played and also grabbed 7 boards. He scored 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting.
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Northwestern heads into this contest with a mark of 12-7 on the campaign. They are averaging 74.2 points per game (204th in D-1) while connecting on 44.4% from the field. The Wildcats are connecting on 32.7% from downtown (123 of 376) and 72.1% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Northwestern is snagging 34.8 boards per contest and has totaled 278 assists this season, which is 152nd in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 10.3 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 17.8 personal fouls every game.
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On the defensive end of the court, the Wildcats are able to force 14.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.5 fouls. They are giving up 33.1% on 3-point shots and they rank 84th in college in opponents points per game (68.2). The Wildcats defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 42.8% (446 of 1,043) and they concede 33.9 rebounds per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 283rd in the country in giving up assists to their opponents with 281 conceded for the season.
In their last game, the Illinois Fighting Illini took a loss by a score of 91-70 against Maryland. When it comes to how they cleaned up the glass, Illinois allowed Maryland to pull down 37 in total (11 on the offensive side). They went 25.0% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 3 of 12 and ended up going 16 out of 23 at the free throw line (69.6%). The Fighting Illini permitted Maryland to convert 36 of 72 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.0% in the matchup. When the game finished, the Fighting Illini walked away from this one shooting 23 out of 61 from the floor which gave them a rate of 37.7%. In reference to shooting from distance, Illinois knocked down 6 out of their 28 attempts (21.4%). They were able to knock down 18 of those for a rate of 75.0%. Maryland committed 19 fouls for the matchup which took the Fighting Illini to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 16 times, while getting 2 steals for the game. The Fighting Illini earned 28 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards for a total of 36 in the game.
Kasparas Jakucionis was important for the Fighting Illini in the game. He knocked down 5 of 14 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 35.7%, and totaled 7 rebounds. He recorded 21 points in his 36 mins on the court and had 7 dimes for the game.
Illinois has a mark of 13-6 so far this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Fighting Illini are shooting 44.5% from the floor, which is ranked 201st in college hoops. Illinois has accounted for 1,632 pts for the season (85.9 per contest) and they average 44.7 rebounds per contest. They are getting an assist 15.2 times per contest (102nd in college hoops) and they are turning it over 11.8 times per contest. The Fighting Illini are committing 16.6 personal fouls per contest while shooting 76.1% from the charity stripe.
The Illinois defense gives up 27.8% on shots from behind the 3-point line (103 of 371) and their opponents are making 68.6% of their free throw attempts. They allow 10.8 dimes and 33.8 total boards per game, which is 34th and 151st in college. The Fighting Illini on the defensive side of the court are 109th in the country in PPG given up with 69.2. They are forcing 10.6 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 39.4% from the floor (26th in college).
Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?
Tony Sink's Pick: Take Illinois
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Additional Resources:
Illinois Fighting Illini - Twitter
Northwestern Wildcats - Twitter