Illinois Fighting Illini vs Purdue Boilermakers Prediction, 1/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Purdue Boilermakers

Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026

Location: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN

TV: ESPN+

Mackey Arena is the site where the Purdue Boilermakers (17-2) will attempt to defeat the Illinois Fighting Illini (16-3) on Saturday.

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced off with Maryland and earned the victory with a final of 89-70 in their last game. Illinois finished with a 43.5% field goal percentage (27 of 62) and made 15 of 40 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini made 20 of 28 shots for a rate of 71.4%. Pertaining to pulling down rebounds, they earned 45 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 17 assists in the game as well as creating 4 turnovers and earning 2 steals. Regarding defense, Illinois allowed 40.0% from the field on 26 out of 65 shooting. Maryland distributed 11 assists and had 3 steals in the game. In addition, Maryland snagged 30 boards (8 offensive, 22 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Maryland finished the game shooting 50.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 8 of their 16 attempts. They knocked down 10 of 32 attempts from 3-point land. With respect to fouls, the Fighting Illini finished with 13 and Maryland recorded 20 fouls.

Andrej Stojakovic is someone who was a major contributor in this game. He shot 50.0% from the field and also earned 1 assist. He saw the court for 33 mins played and pulled down 9 boards. He ended up scoring 30 points on 9 of 18 shooting.

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Illinois enters this one with a win-loss record of 16-3 so far this year. They are losing possession via turnover 9.7 times per contest and as a group they commit 12.9 fouls per game. As a unit, Illinois is collecting 42.1 rebounds per game and has racked up 281 assists on the campaign, which is 177th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Fighting Illini are shooting 35.2% on shots from downtown (203 of 576) and 79.8% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 85.3 points per contest (36th in Division 1) on 47.1% from the field.

Defensively, the Fighting Illini are forcing 8.2 turnovers every game while drawing 20.0 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 91st in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 236 surrendered on the season. The Fighting Illini defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 39.6% (482 of 1,218) and they concede 31.0 boards per game as a squad. They surrender 31.4% on shots from distance while they are 45th in college hoops in points per game allowed (67.6).

In their last game, the Purdue Boilermakers went home defeated by a final of 69-67 against UCLA. In the matter of attacking the glass, Purdue permitted UCLA to get 23 in total (4 on the offensive side). They finished 45.0% from 3-point land by hitting 9 out of 20 and finished the contest at 2 out of 3 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Boilermakers permitted UCLA to make 29 of 51 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 56.9% for this contest. When the game finished, the Boilermakers shot 27 for 60 from the field which gave them a percentage of 45.0%. When discussing 3-point attempts, Purdue made 7 of their 27 tries (25.9%). They were able to convert 6 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 85.7%. UCLA was called for 10 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Boilermakers to the charity stripe for a total of 7 shots. They also turned it over 7 times, while recording 7 steals for this game. The Boilermakers snagged 15 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 24 for this game.

C.J. Cox was important for the Boilermakers in the matchup. He scored 16 points in his 30 mins on the hardwood and added 4 assists for this contest. He made 6 out of 11 for this contest for a field goal rate of 54.5%, and had 5 rebounds.

Purdue has a record of 17-2 so far this year. The Boilermakers have committed 13.9 fouls per game and they shoot 74.8% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 20.5 times per game (3rd in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 9.6 times per game. Purdue has tallied 1,598 points for the campaign (84.1 per game) and they pull in 37.3 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Boilermakers are connecting on 51.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 11th in college.

The Purdue defense gives up 31.2% on shots from 3-point land (157 of 503) and their opposition knocks down 69.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 14.2 assists and 28.9 boards per game, which is ranked 246th and 5th in those categories on the defensive end. The Boilermakers on defense are ranked 54th in college in points per game surrendered with 68.1. They are able to force 11.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 42.6% from the floor (124th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Purdue

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