Big Ten foes will clash when the Illinois Fighting Illini (11-12) square off against the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes (18-4) at State Farm Center. Action starts at 1:00 pm ET on Sunday, Feb. 7 and can be seen on BTN.
The Fighting Illini beat Rutgers 110-101 on Wednesday. Malcolm Hill fueled the Fighting Illini, recording his fifth double-double of the season with 32 points and 14 rebounds. The Hawkeyes are coming off a 73-49 win over Penn State on Wednesday. Anthony Clemmons played well, accounting for 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Scoring opportunities from the charity stripe may be sporadic for the Hawkeyes in this one. They’re 294th in the nation in FTA rate (32.0), while Illinois is among the nation’s least foul-prone teams (yielding a rate of 26.3, ranking 16th overall).
The Fighting Illini have gone 11-12 Straight Up (SU) and 8-10-3 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 7-3 ATS. Illinois has been steady from the free throw line, shooting a superb .735. The Fighting Illini, sporting the 42nd-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.34), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team. Illinois’s defense has put it all together in the past 10 games. Its average points allowed per game dropped to 67.0 during that span, compared to its 76.2 season average.
As for their opponent, Iowa has a SU record of 18-4 and an ATS record of 13-8. Offensively, they average 80.8 points per game, which is good for 26th in the country. The Hawkeyes are shooting very well so far with a .397 three-point field goal percentage that ranks 18th in Division I. The Hawkeyes are one of the top teams in the country at finding the open man with an average of 16.8 assists per game. The last 10 games have really brought the worst out of the Hawkeyes on the defensive end. They allowed 78.6 points per game during that span, which is higher than their season average of 67.5. Iowa’s three-point defense is one of the top in the country, with opponents shooting only .293 from the three. When it comes to defending the rim, the Hawkeyes are one of the best in the nation with an average of 5.8 blocks per game. Taking care of the basketball is something the Hawkeyes do very well, averaging just 10.0 turnovers per game.
These conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Hawkeyes were winners, but the win was not enough to overtake Illinois in their recent head-to-head series. Their record is now 4-6 SU over the most recent meetings. Additionally, Illinois leads the matchup ATS with a record of 6-3-1. Illinois held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time, while Iowa was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Iowa, ATS Winner – Iowa
Notes
Illinois scores an average of just 74.5 points per game (ranked 124th). Iowa ranks 64th in points allowed, giving up 67.5 points per game.
Illinois scores just 74.8 points per home game (ranked 159th). Iowa ranks 74th in points allowed on the road, giving up 71.1 points.
In its last game, Iowa won by a margin of 24 points. Illinois is 0-2 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Iowa has a 7-0 record in blowouts.
Ranked 18th, the Iowa Hawkeyes have an offensive rating of 116.4. The Illinois Fighting Illini rank 255th with a defensive rating of just 106.5.
Iowa has an average field goal percentage of 46.5%. Illinois is an abysmal 2-8 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Iowa Hawkeyes both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Illinois is 224th and 177th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Iowa is 57th and 39th in these categories.
Ranked 23rd in the nation, Iowa has an average of 16.8 assists per game. Illinois ranks lower at 153rd with 13.7.
The Iowa Hawkeyes average 5.8 blocks per game, the 10th-ranked team in the country. The Illinois Fighting Illini rank a lowly 344th in blocking with just 1.7 per game.
Illinois ranks 339th in offensive rebounds, while Iowa ranks 74th in defensive rebounds.
Illinois has forced an average turnover percentage of 19.1% this season. Iowa is an even 1-1 when its TO% is 19.1% or higher.
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