The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini meet in college basketball action from the State Farm Center on Friday night. Can FDU pull off the massive upset to get back to .500? OR will Illinois hold down the fort to get to double-digit wins on the year? Let’s dive in and find out with our Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Illinois Prediction.
Fairleigh Dickinson Team Preview
The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights come into this one looking to rebound from back-to-back losses after a 92-69 loss to Fairfield last time out. Ansley Almonor leads the Knights in scoring with 16.7 PPG along with 5.8 RPG while Sean Moore has 11.5 PPG with a team-high 7.3 RPG to lead the Knights on the glass this season. Jo’el Emanuel has 10.8 PPG with 5.8 RPG while DeVante Jamison has 10.3 PPG with 3 RPG and a team-high 4.8 APG to lead the Knights in the assist department this season. Joe Munden Jr. has 10.7 PPG with 3.5 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Fairleigh Dickinson up to this point in the year. As a team, Fairleigh Dickinson is averaging 81.5 PPG on 44.6% shooting from the field, 34% from three and 70.1% from the foul line this season.
Illinois Team Preview
The Illinois Fighting Illini come into this one looking to build on back-to-back wins after a 97-73 win over Missouri last time out. Terrence Shannon Jr. leads the Illini in scoring and assists with 21.7 PPG and 2.5 APG along with 4.5 RPG this season, but is currently suspended indefinitely due to an off-court matter. Marcus Domask has 11.6 PPG with 4.6 RPG and Quincy Guerrier has 10.5 PPG with a team-high 6.8 RPG to lead the Illini on the glass and to round out the trio of double-digit scorers for Illinois so far this year. Coleman Hawkins also has 9 PPG with 5.9 RPG and 2.5 APG as well up to this point in the year. As a team, Illinois is averaging 81 PPG on 46.7% shooting from the field, 32.6% from three and 69.6% from the foul line this season. Illinois is 9-2 in the Big Ten with the same record as Northwestern. After this game, Illinois will play against Purdue.
Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Illinois Prediction
I’m taking the under here. This is a massive total considering Illinois is missing Shannon Jr., and while Fairleigh Dickinson’s given up some big point totals this season I still think they can keep Illinois within reason here. I don’t expect a big game from FDU against Illinois’ rock solid defense and I have this game finishing closer to the high-140s or low 150s. Give me the under here.
