Indiana Looks to Build on Wisconsin Win
Who would have thought that Indiana would be closer to the cellar in the Big Ten standings than the front-runners. This will be another tough test for the Hoosiers, heading to face Illinois.
The Fighting Illini are 9-1 at home while Indiana is just 1-4 on the road.
Indiana is fifth nationally in field-goal percentage and in the top 20 in assists per game.
Scoring inside will not be easy since Illinois is second nationally with an average of 6.3 blocked shots per game and Indiana is 12th with 5.7 per contest.
Xavier Johnson, Indiana’s third-leading scorer, is out with a foot injury while Race Thompson is sidelined with a knee injury, leaving the Hoosiers without two of the seven players averaging at least 20 minutes per game.
Luke Goode remains sidelined for Illinois with a foot injury.
Illinois moved into the Top 25 in the coaches’ poll at No. 23 and is among other teams receiving votes in the Associated Press poll. Indiana is in the “other teams receiving votes” in the coaches’ poll.
According to the college basketball odds, Illinois and Indiana are both priced at +1200 in the odds to reach the Final Four.
Let’s check the latest college basketball news, stats, injury reports and college basketball lines for Indiana vs Illinois. We’ve plenty of NCAA basketball picks for you to consider.
Hoosiers Have Work to Do
Good luck trying to figure out this Indiana team. Is it the squad that just cruised to an 18-point win over nationally ranked Wisconsin or the one that fell to Northwestern by a point and then to Penn State by 19 points?
Defense wins games. pic.twitter.com/q8EQ0HCQjN
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) January 15, 2023
Indiana allowed a Penn State team that is in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten in scoring offense to connect on 54% of its shots and go 18 of 31 from 3-point range.
The issues aren’t just on defense.
Indiana is in a bit of a shooting funk. The Hoosiers are third in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage, connecting on 37.1% of its shots from distance. However, in the last two games, they are just 5 of 22 on 3-pointers.
Indiana has failed to cover against the Las Vegas odds in seven of its last eight games.
Welcome Home
Illinois didn’t secure the services of Illinois native Terrence Shannon Jr. when he was coming out of high school. However, the Fighting Illini got a second chance when Shannon left Texas Tech after being a three-year starter.
Shannon is being given more freedom in Illinois’ offensive system than he ever had at Texas Tech. He is averaging 4.3 more field-goal attempts this season than he did in his last year with the Red Raiders. His scoring average has jumped from 10.4 points in 2021-22 to 17.6 this season.
During the Fighting Illini’s current four-game winning streak, he is averaging 19.3 points and 7.0 rebounds.
Illinois has covered against the college basketball betting lines in five of its last six games.
Indiana vs Illinois Game Injuries
Indiana vs Illinois Head-to-Head
Indiana snapped a four-game losing streak to Illinois with a 65-63 win over the top-seeded Fighting Illini in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Big Ten tournament. Indiana was a six-point underdog in the game.
Not only did Illinois win the previous four matchups, the Fighting Illini covered in three of them.
The Fighting Illini won three of the last four matches when Indiana came to Champaign. The three wins by Illinois were by nine, one and three points while the victory by Indiana was a 92-74 game.
Three of the last four games in the series finished under the total.
Indiana vs Illinois Game Information
- Game: Indiana (11-6, 2-4 Big Ten) vs Illinois (13-5, 4-3)
- Location: State Farm Center, Champaign, IL
- Day/Time: Thursday, Jan. 19th, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Indiana vs Illinois Live Stream: TBS.com
Indiana vs Illinois Betting Lines
Indiana vs Illinois Picks & Prediction
Despite some early losses, there are still lofty expectations for both the Hoosiers and Fighting Illini. Illinois displayed some of its potential with a win over UCLA in November while Indiana owns a win over Xavier.
The total has gone over in seven of Indiana’s last nine games as well as in four of the last five conference matchups.
Indiana is 0-4-1 against the spread on the road while Illinois has covered in seven of 10 home contests.
Illinois has only played in one game decided by six points or less and lost that contest to Maryland. Indiana is 1-2 in one- or two-possession games.
Indiana is listed at +210 in our Las Vegas college basketball lines. This means that if you wager $100 on the Hoosiers, you have a chance to win $210. Illinois is -260, offering a chance to win $38 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Indiana a 32.26% chance to win, with Illinois at 72.22%.
Indiana vs Illinois Trends
Indiana vs Illinois Edge
Indiana vs Illinois Results
Indiana vs Illinois Game Summary
