Creighton Bluejays (26-6, 18-3 Big East) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (21-9, 11-8 Big Ten)
Austin, Texas; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bluejays -1; over/under is 137.5
BOTTOM LINE: Illinois and No. 23 Creighton square off in the NCAA Tournament opening round.
The Fighting Illini have gone 11-8 against Big Ten opponents, with a 10-1 record in non-conference play. Illinois scores 71.2 points while outscoring opponents by 9.5 points per game.
The Bluejays are 18-3 in Big East play. Creighton is seventh in the Big East with 29.5 rebounds per game led by Morgan Maly averaging 5.8.
Illinois is shooting 43.5% from the field this season, 0.9 percentage points higher than the 42.6% Creighton allows to opponents. Creighton scores 10.4 more points per game (72.1) than Illinois gives up (61.7).
TOP PERFORMERS: Genesis Bryant is averaging 15.1 points and four assists for the Fighting Illini. Kendall Bostic is averaging 14.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while shooting 52.0% over the last 10 games.
Lauren Jensen is scoring 17.7 points per game with 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Bluejays. Maly is averaging 17.2 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 50.4% over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 68.6 points, 31.3 rebounds, 15.6 assists, 5.3 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 42.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.2 points per game.
Bluejays: 8-2, averaging 67.8 points, 30.8 rebounds, 16.5 assists, 6.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.8 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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