Ohio State Buckeyes vs Illinois Fighting Illini Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 02/24/2022

Game Time: 9:00 pm ET, Thursday, February 24, 2022

Venue:  State Farm Center, Champaign, IL 

Where to Watch:  Fox Sports 1

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  OSU +6, Illinois -6; Over/Under:  141 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  OSU +6.5, Illinois -6.5; Over/Under:  140.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  OSU +6.5, Illinois -6.5; Over/Under:  140.5 points

 

Ohio State Buckeyes:  17-7 (4th place, Big Ten)

Illinois Fighting Illini:  19-7 (3rd place, Big Ten)

 

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Ohio State Buckeyes:  3-2 last 5

Illinois Fighting Illini:  3-2 last 5

 

 

 

OSU is coming into this game with a 17-7 record overall and they are 4-5 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 16th conference matchup of the year and they are currently 10-5 in their conference games this season. They have won 3 of their last 4 games but are coming into this one off of a win in their last game. Their last loss was against the Iowa Hawkeyes while their 3 wins in that span came against the Michigan Wolverines, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, and the Indiana Hoosiers in their last game. Malaki Branham led the team in points in that game with 27 while EJ Liddell was next on the team with 16 points. Branham led the team in assists in that game with 3 while Liddell led the team in rebounds with 7. They were 48.1% from the field, 31.6% from 3-point range, and 78.6% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 74.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 66.8 PPG against them. OSU has an ATS record of 13-11 this season and their O/U record is 14-10.

 

 

Illinois is coming into this game with a 19-7 record overall and they are 11-2 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 17th conference matchup on their schedule this year and they are currently 12-4 in their conference games this season. They have won 2 of their last 3 games and are coming into this one off of a win in their last game. Their last loss was against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights while their 2 wins in that span came against the Northwestern Wildcats and the Michigan State Spartans in their last game. Kofi Cockburn led the team in points in that game with 27 while Jacob Grandison was next on the team with 24 points. Grandison and Trent Frazier both led the team in assists in that game with 5 each while Cockburn led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 45% from the field, 29.6% from 3-point range, and 73.9% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 76 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 66.7 PPG against them. Illinois has an ATS record of 12-14 this season and their O/U record is 15-11.

 

OSU is coming into this game playing very well recently winning 3 of their last 4 games and they have been winning those games by a lot. All 3 of those wins have been by double digits and they have been very good against conference opponents as well as they are 10-5 this season. They have not been good on the road though and they actually have a losing record of 4-5 in those games. They are going up against an Illinois side that has been great at home this season with an 11-2 record there and they have even been better against conference opponents with a 12-4 record. They have won 2 of their last 3 games but they have not been winning their games by much and with how Ohio State has been playing recently, Illinois may struggle to pull away in this game. Illinois is the better team here and they have been very good at home but they will likely only win this game by a few points here at home.

 

Ohio State Illinois Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, February 24, 2022 (9:00 pm ET start time) is Illinois 78 OSU 75.

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Ohio State Buckeyes: 21-15 ATS off a home win. 33-24 ATS after 1 or more consecutive wins. 14-9 OVER as an underdog.

Illinois Fighting Illini: 4-10 ATS after a game committing 8 or less turnovers. 10-5 OVER after playing 3 consecutive games as favorite. 11-6 OVER after 1 or more consecutive wins.

 

 

Ohio State Buckeyes:  S. Towns (F) Early March - Back injury. J. Sueing (F) Out indefinitely - Abdominal injury.

Illinois Fighting Illini:  B. Bosmans-Verdonk (F) Ques Thurs - Concussion. A. Hutcherson (G) out for season - Hernia.

 

 

“A really, really gritty, emotional win. I just thought our guys were phenomenal in the closing two or three minutes.” - Chris Holtmann on his team’s win against Indiana.

 

 

"I think it'd be a negative effect, we need to keep the handshake line. Who are we? I'm a teacher, I'm an educator. That's what we are. We get too much credit, too much negative stuff. We're here to help young people grow. Life is competition.” - Brad Underwood on keeping the handshakes at the end of the game.

 

 

 

J. Ahrens 

M. Branham 

Z. Key 

E. Liddell 

J. Wheeler

 

K. Cockburn

T. Frazier 

J. Grandison 

A. Plummer

D. Williams

 

 

PPG: E. Liddell (19.5)

APG: J. Wheeler (3.3)

Reb/G: E. Liddell (7.6)

 

PPG: K. Cockburn (21.7)

APG: T. Frazier (4)

Reb/G: K. Cockburn (11.2)

 

Coaches:

Ohio State Buckeyes: Chris Holtmann (5th season)

Illinois Fighting Illini: Brad Underwood (5th season)