The Illinois Fighting Illini (1-2) and Chattanooga Mocs (2-0) will take the court at Prairie Capital Convention Center for this game. The game begins at 8:30 pm ET on Saturday, Nov. 21 and can be seen on BTN.
The Fighting Illini are hoping to rebound after their 60-59 loss to Providence on Wednesday. Jalen Coleman-Lands was the team’s high scorer, finishing with 17 points. The Mocs, meanwhile, are coming off a 94-55 win against Hiwassee College on Monday. Justin Tuoyo was the game’s top scorer, posting 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
Illinois is a seven-point favorite against Chattanooga and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 146 points. The Fighting Illini come into this game 1-2 Straight Up (SU), but 2-0 Against The Spread (ATS). The Fighting Illini, sporting the 48th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.53), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team.
As for their opponent, the Mocs have come out of the gate playing well with records of 2-0 SU and 1-0 ATS. They sport the 21st-ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 93.0 points per game. The Mocs convert their three-pointers at a high percentage, ranking 23rd in the nation at .429. The Mocs are one of the top teams in the country at finding the open man with an average of 18.0 assists per game.
This game will be the first meeting for Illinois and Chattanooga in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Chat, ATS Winner – Chat, O/U – Over
Notes
Illinois is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games.
Illinois is 16-6 SU in its last 22 games at home.
The Chattanooga Mocs have a defensive rating of 89.4 (ranked 72nd), while the Illinois Fighting Illini have an offensive rating of 105.4 (ranked 185th).
With 69.5 possessions and 1.054 points per possession, the Illinois Fighting Illini perform worse on both metrics than the Chattanooga Mocs. Chattanooga averages 81.6 possessions and 1.140 points per possession.
Illinois has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.7%. Chattanooga is undefeated (1-0) when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Illinois attempts an average of 19.0 three pointers per game and Chattanooga attempts 28.0 on average. When the teams attempt at least 20 three pointers, the Illinois Fighting Illini are winless (0-1) while the Chattanooga Mocs are undefeated (2-0).
Illinois ranks 48th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.53. Chattanooga is ranked lower at 222nd with an A/TO of .92.
The Chattanooga Mocs rank 62nd in offensive rebounds. The Illinois Fighting Illini rank 176th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
Opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 13.9% when playing Illinois this season. Chattanooga is undefeated (2-0) when its TO% is 13.9% or higher.
