Southern Jaguars vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, 12/29/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Southern Jaguars vs Illinois Fighting Illini

Date: Monday, December 29, 2025

Location: State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Illinois Fighting Illini (9-3) will take on the Southern Jaguars (4-8) at State Farm Center on Monday.

The Southern Jaguars faced off with Baylor and took a loss by a score of 111-67 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Jaguars ended up with 21 and Baylor totaled 15 fouls. They made 17 out of their 32 tries from beyond the perimeter. Baylor ended up going 76.9% at the charity stripe by knocking down 20 of 26 tries. Additionally, Baylor snagged 37 rebounds (13 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't have a block. Baylor recorded 28 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. In regard to defending, Southern allowed the other team to go 55.2% from the field on 37 out of 67 shooting. They also recorded 12 assists for this contest as well as forcing the other team into 4 turnovers and earning 2 steals. When discussing hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 33 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Jaguars converted 8 of their 14 tries for a percentage of 57.1%. Southern finished having earned a 40.3% FG percentage (27 out of 67) and buried 5 out of their 18 shots from 3-point land.

Michael Jacobs is a player who was important for the game. He ended up finishing with 20 points on 7 out of 15 shooting. He played for 29 minutes played and totaled 2 rebounds. He finished 46.7% from the floor and also distributed 4 assists.

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Southern enters this matchup with a win-loss record of 4-8 this season. They lose possession via turnover 13.5 times per contest and as a team they are committing 19.8 personal fouls every game. As a team, Southern is snagging 37.3 rebounds per game and has 185 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 175th in the nation in terms of passing. The Jaguars are shooting 36.6% on shots from 3-point land (97 of 265) and 67.0% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 85.3 points per game (59th in the nation) while hitting 47.3% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Jaguars are able to force 15.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.6 fouls. They are 292nd in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 193 conceded so far this year. The Jaguars defense is giving up a FG percentage of 44.6% (328 of 735) and they surrender 37.3 boards per game as a squad. They relinquish 35.3% on shots from distance while they are 337th in college hoops in PPG allowed (82.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the Illinois Fighting Illini took home the win by a final score of 91-48 against Missouri. The Fighting Illini snagged 27 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 41 in the game. They also turned it over 11 times, while getting 3 steals in this contest. Missouri was called for 20 personal fouls for the contest which took the Fighting Illini to the charity stripe for a total of 20 tries. They were able to knock down 16 of them for a rate of 80.0%. When talking about shots from downtown, Illinois buried 15 of their 33 tries (45.5%). Overall, the Fighting Illini finished 30 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 51.7%. The Fighting Illini allowed Missouri to make 16 of their 56 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 28.6% in the matchup. They went 27.3% from 3-point land by going 6 out of 22 and finished the game at 10 out of 15 at the free throw line (66.7%). Concerning rebounding, Illinois permitted Missouri to grab 20 overall (8 on the offensive side).

Keaton Wagler ended up being a factor for the Fighting Illini in the matchup. He tallied 22 points in his 34 minutes on the court and had 4 dimes for this game. He made 7 out of 11 in this contest for a field goal rate of 63.6%, and accumulated 8 rebounds.

Illinois has a record of 9-3 so far this year. The Fighting Illini are responsible for committing 13.8 personal fouls per game and they hit 78.4% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 14.8 times per game (165th in the country) and they are giving up possession 9.7 times per contest. Illinois has scored 1,057 pts on the campaign (88.1 per contest) and they pull down 41.8 boards per contest. As an offensive team, the Fighting Illini are hitting on 48.1% from the floor, which is ranked 76th in the nation.

The Fighting Illini defensively are ranked 96th in college in points per game surrendered with 69.6. They have forced 8.8 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 40.5% from the floor (62nd in college). The Illinois defense allows 32.8% on shots from 3-point land (100 of 305) and opponents are converting on 68.9% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 12.5 assists and 30.9 rebounds every game, which ranks them 119th and 40th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Illinois

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