Chicago State Cougars vs Illinois Fighting Illini Matchup

Read on to get betting odds and analysis in our Chicago State vs Illinois NCAA Basketball prediction and preview and see who we think will win and cover the spread in Champaign.

Chicago State vs Illinois Prediction

Planning on watching today's Cougars and Fighting Illini game? Catch the action at State Farm Center in Champaign, IL, as the Fighting Illini hosts this showdown at 2:00 ET on BTN. The over/under for this non-conference contest is set at 150.5 points, with Illinois being favored by -38.5 over Chicago State.

Chicago State vs. Illinois Matchup At A Glance

Sport: NCAAB
Teams: Chicago State Cougars at Illinois Fighting Illini
Where: Champaign at State Farm Center
Date: Sunday, December 29th
Betting Odds ILL -38.5, CHIST +40000 | ILL -1000000 O/U 150.5

Cougars Preview: Will the Cougars Find a Way to Win in Champaign?

Chicago State fell to 0-14 on the season after an 81-57 loss to CSUN on Saturday. The Cougars, who were +20.5 underdogs, didn’t cover the spread. The game’s total points of 138 fell short of the 150.5 O/U line.

Chicago State led 25-22 at halftime but allowed 59 points in the 2nd half while scoring 32. The Cougars’ inability to maintain their defensive intensity after the break was a key factor in the loss.

Cougars Offense Breakdown

Chicago State struggled offensively in their last game, shooting just 32.7% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc, finishing with 57 points. Their effective field goal percentage was 38.5%, and they hit 60.7% of their free throws, going 17-for-28 from the line.

Scotty Washington led the team with 19 points despite shooting 30.8% overall and 16.7% from three. Mahmoud Fofana was efficient, hitting 7 of 10 shots for 17 points, while Matthew Robinson Jr. added 14 points, connecting on 3 of 5 threes.

Cougars Team Defense

Despite giving up 81 points, Chicago State's defense did manage to limit the damage from beyond the arc, holding their opponent to just 22% shooting on threes (4/18). However, they struggled inside, allowing 51% shooting on two-pointers (25/49).

The Cougars also sent their opponent to the free-throw line 21 times, where they converted 19 of those attempts, shooting 90% from the stripe. Chicago State gave up 11 offensive rebounds in the game.

Fighting Illini Preview: Do the Fighting Illini Have What it Takes to Win as Home Favorites?

Illinois improved to 8-3 on the season with an 80-77 win over Missouri on Sunday, December 22nd. The Illini were -3.5 favorites heading into the game, but they didn’t cover the spread. The total points for the game were 157, just over the 154.5 O/U line.

Illinois led 37-32 at halftime and scored 43 points in the 2nd half, while allowing 45 points to Missouri.

Fighting Illini Offense Breakdown

Illinois put up 80 points in their last game, shooting 43.9% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 50.9%. They connected on 54.8% of their two-point attempts, but struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 30.8% (8/26) of their threes. At the free-throw line, they were nearly perfect, going 22-for-23 (95.7%).

Kasparas Jakucionis led the way with 21 points, hitting 3-of-7 from deep, while Mark Mitchell and Tony Perkins each added 18 points. Kylan Boswell had a rough shooting night, going 2-for-12, but contributed 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Tomislav Ivisic also made an impact, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Fighting Illini Team Defense

Illinois gave up 77 points despite holding their opponent to 39% shooting from the field. The Fighting Illini allowed 20 two-point baskets on 45 attempts, a 44% conversion rate.

From beyond the arc, Illinois limited their opponent to just 3 made threes on 13 attempts, a 23% shooting performance. However, they sent them to the free-throw line 37 times, where they hit 28 free throws, shooting 75%.

Cougars vs Fighting Illini Betting Odds, Trends & Analysis

Chicago State has a 0-3 record in their last three road games. In this stretch, they averaged 57 points per game while allowing 76. The team also performed well vs the spread at 2-1.
Across the Fighting Illini last ten home games, the team averaged 77 points per game while allowing 77. Their record vs the spread in these contests was 5-5, while going 6-4 straight-up.
Going back to their previous ten games as the underdog, Chicago State has an ATS mark of 5-5 while going 0-10 straight up.
In their last five contests as the favorite, Illinois has a poor record vs the spread going 2-3. But, they still put together a straight up mark of 4-1.