It will be a battle between Big Ten opponents when the Ohio State Buckeyes (9-5) welcome the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-6) to Value City Arena. The game gets underway at 5:00 pm ET on Sunday, Jan. 3 and will air on BTN.
The Buckeyes beat Minnesota 78-63 on Wednesday. Marc Loving led all scorers on the team with 20 points on 6-for-11 shooting. The Fighting Illini, meanwhile, are coming off a 78-68 loss to Michigan on Wednesday. Kendrick Nunn had a good shooting night, leading the team with 23 points.
Over the last five games, Malcolm Hill has been on fire for the Fighting Illini. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.4 blocks, and 1.8 three-pointers.
Ohio State, an eight-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Illinois. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 141 points. The Buckeyes enter the game with records of 9-5 Straight Up (SU) and 7-7 Against The Spread (ATS). Teams routinely struggle to score points against the Buckeyes, who allow only 62.9 points per game. Teams have to fight for open shots against the Buckeyes, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the country at .379. An area where the Buckeyes are particularly strong is shot blocking, where they average 6.0 blocks per game, 10th in Division I.
Across the court, the Fighting Illini head into the game with records of 4-5-3 ATS and 8-6 SU. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Fighting Illini. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the country at 1.42.
Ohio State and Illinois will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Buckeyes were winners, moving their SU record against Illinois to 8-2 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. Additionally, with a 6-4 record, Ohio State has the advantage ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers, neither team was able to hold the advantage in all three of these categories over their past five meetings against one another.
Predictions: SU Winner – OhioSt, ATS Winner – OhioSt, O/U – Over
Notes
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ohio State’s last 7 games.
Ohio State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Ohio State’s last 5 games at home.
Ohio State is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Illinois.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Ohio State’s last 5 games when playing Illinois.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Ohio State’s last 12 games when playing at home against Illinois.
Illinois averages 75.9 points per game, placing the team just 133rd in the nation. Ohio State ranks 27th in points allowed, giving up 62.9 points per game.
Illinois scores just 59.0 points per away game (ranked 320th). Ohio State ranks 38th in points allowed at home, giving up 59.8 points.
Illinois beats Ohio State in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Fighting Illini average 69.8 possessions and 1.087 points per possession, while the Buckeyes average 68.2 possessions with 1.056 points per possession.
The Ohio State Buckeyes average an effective field goal percentage of 52.0% this season. The Illinois Fighting Illini have split their games this season (5-5) when opponents have an eFG% of 52.0% or greater.
Illinois ranks 32nd in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.42. Ohio State is ranked lower at 255th with an A/TO of .92.
Ohio State, the 84th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 39.2 rebounds per game. Illinois does worse, ranked 318th with 32.9.
On average, Ohio State makes 6.2 steals per game. Illinois is a losing 2-4 when it gives up at least 6 steals.
