Joralexray Garcia
This December 22nd the NCAA Basketball will offer us another day of great clashes, being this Illinois vs Missouri game one of those that will undoubtedly steal most of the attention.
Illinois managed to win last season’s meeting between the two teams, however, that result was preceded by three consecutive victories by Missouri, who dominates this particular series with eight wins in 13 games.
The best preview for the Illinois Fighting Illini vs Missouri Tigers game can be found at JefeBet, where you can also enjoy the most accurate odds and predictions for the best college basketball games in the United States.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the Illinois vs Missouri College Basketball Game on December 22, 2022.
- Where: Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO. St. Louis, Missouri.
- When: Thursday, December 22, 2022, 9:00 PM E.T.
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Betting on the Illinois Fighting Illini
The Fighting Illini have had a very solid campaign, however, it has only helped them rank 12th in one of the most competitive conferences in the league, the Big Ten, which is dominated by a Purdue team that is still undefeated (11-0).
Illinois was able to bounce back from a tough home loss to Penn State with a 47-68 win over Alabama A&M Bulldogs, which was achieved mainly because of a big first half in which they allowed just 19 points. Matthew Mayer was Illinois’ leading scorer in that game with 21 points in just 20 minutes of play, followed by a Terrence Shannon Jr. who contributed with another 18 goals.
The Fighting Illini have performed well on both offense and defense this campaign, averaging 78.1 points scored per game and ranking among the nation’s top 50 defensively, with an average of 62.1 points allowed.
Betting on the Missouri Tigers
For their part, the Tigers have also had a productive first few months of the season, losing just one of their first 11 games to rank third in a tough Southwest Conference, but just 1.0 game behind the Mississippi State Bulldogs who dominate the region with an undefeated record.
Missouri also arrives to this game after bouncing back up from a resounding 95-67 loss to the Kansas City Jayhawks with a hard-fought 68-66 win over the Central Florida Knights after winning the final quarter 33-30. Nick Honor was again the Tigers’ top performer in that game with 17 points and 3 assists.
While they have had some defensive problems, averaging 75.0 points allowed per game, the Tigers have managed to overcome those shortcomings with an offense that has averaged 88.4 points scored per game, which is the fourth best figure in the league.
JefeBet Prediction
The Fighting Illini have not been able to surpass the 70-point barrier in their last two games, however, they are a team that has been effective on offense this campaign, so this will be a good opportunity to redeem themselves in that aspect, given that they will face a Tigers that tend to be very permissive on their side of the court.
However, don’t forget that Missouri is the fourth best team in the league on offense, so they will surely have the ability to do a lot of damage even to a strong visiting defense.
With two teams that are doing very well on offense, and a very weak Missouri defense, we expect to see a game with a lot of transitions and of course a lot of points being converted.
Prediction: Over.
Odds provided by BetMGM. Check out our reviews!
