Big Ten action continues on Saturday afternoon as the Illinois Fighting Illini get set to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Illinois enters this conference tilt at 16-6 (8-4-1 ATS) while Iowa is currently 14-8 (11-2 ATS). Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 ET from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
Illinois cruised to a 72-56 over visiting Nebraska on Tuesday night. The win improved the Illini’s conference record to 7-4, where they now sit in second behind only Purdue (11-1). From a betting perspective, the Illini covered as they were laying 14.0 points against the Huskers. As for the total, the 128 combined points fell short of the 135.5-point pregame threshold set by the oddsmakers. Matthew Mayer led the way as one of four double-digit scorers, dropping 16 points on a 4-14 (28.6%) shooting night. The others included Terrence Shannon Jr. (13 points), Jayden Epps (12), and Coleman Hawkins (10).
Transitioning the turnovers.#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/4gdxW9C9HN
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) February 1, 2023
Shannon Jr. has been a force this season, leading the team in both points (17.2 PPG) and steals (1.4 SPG). Hawkins is putting up 9.5 points per game, but leads the program in rebounds (6.4 RPG) and assists (3.3 APG).
Illinois has fallen out of the top 25 in the AP Poll; however, they’re 22nd in the KenPom rankings. Their biggest strength has been the defense, which is allowing just 93.2 points per 100 possessions (15th). Offensively, the Illini are scoring 75.0 points per game and shooting 45.3% from the field as a team.
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