The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-19) head to Illinois to take on the Fighting Illini (11-14) in what should be a fast-paced game. The game starts at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 16 and can be seen on BTN.
The Fighting Illini are hoping to rebound after their 58-56 loss to Northwestern on Saturday. Kendrick Nunn was the team’s high scorer with 13 points. The Scarlet Knights, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 79-69 loss to Ohio State on Saturday. Corey Sanders had a good shooting night, leading the team with 23 points.
Sanders has been on a tear over the last five games for the Scarlet Knights, averaging 24.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.6 three-pointers.
The Fighting Illini should be expected to protect the ball well in this contest. They rank seventh in the nation at avoiding errors (TO% of 14.6%). Meanwhile, Rutgers forces the 48th-fewest turnovers in the nation (16.5%). Moreover, foul-shooting opportunities could prove to be quite rare for the Scarlet Knights. They are 287th in the nation in FTA rate (32.4), while the Fighting Illini are among the nation’s least foul-prone teams (allowing a rate of just 26.0, ranking 10th in the country).
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Fighting Illini winning the first matchup 110-101. Sanders finished with 39 points and 12 assists.
The Fighting Illini have gone 11-14 Straight Up (SU) and 9-11-3 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 3-7 ATS. The Fighting Illini will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In the last 10 games, Illinois has only averaged 67.2 points per game compared to the 73.4 they’ve averaged on the season. Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Illinois, which ranks 44th at 1.34. The Fighting Illini will be looking to turn around their defense after struggling a bit recently. The Fighting Illini have given up an average of 90.9 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 75.5 PPG.
Over on the other bench, the Scarlet Knights have 6-19 SU and 9-12 ATS records.
The Fighting Illini’s win over Rutgers in their last game bumped their SU record to 3-0 over Rutgers. With a 3-0 record, the Fighting Illini also have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Ill, ATS Winner – Ill
Notes
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights average 71.9 possessions per game and .951 points per possession. The Illinois Fighting Illini earn fewer possessions with 70.2, but they score more points with 1.045.
The Illinois Fighting Illini average an effective field goal percentage of 49.8% this season. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights have a subpar record of 1-16 when opponents have an eFG% of 49.8% or greater.
Illinois attempts an average of 22.0 three pointers per game and Rutgers attempts 16.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Illinois Fighting Illini have a 6-9 record while the Rutgers Scarlet Knights are winless at 0-4.
On average, Illinois makes 5.2 steals per game. Rutgers is an abysmal 5-15 when it gives up at least 5 steals.
