Abilene Christian Wildcats (22-12, 9-8 WAC) at Illinois State Redbirds (22-12, 15-7 MVC)
Normal, Illinois; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Illinois State and Abilene Christian meet in the National Invitation Tournament.
The Redbirds are 15-7 against MVC opponents and 7-5 in non-conference play. Illinois State is third in the MVC scoring 75.3 points while shooting 48.1% from the field.
The Wildcats’ record in WAC games is 9-8. Abilene Christian is third in the WAC scoring 71.6 points per game and is shooting 43.5%.
Illinois State’s average of 6.5 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.4 fewer made shots on average than the 6.9 per game Abilene Christian gives up. Abilene Christian averages 7.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.3 fewer makes per game than Illinois State allows.
TOP PERFORMERS: Shannon Dowell is shooting 48.8% and averaging 16.9 points for the Redbirds. Elyce Knudsen is averaging 15.2 points over the last 10 games.
Bella Earle is shooting 43.9% and averaging 14.0 points for the Wildcats. Meredith Mayes is averaging 14.7 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 7-3, averaging 75.2 points, 32.2 rebounds, 15.9 assists, 5.5 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.9 points per game.
Wildcats: 7-3, averaging 69.5 points, 29.6 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 9.1 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 42.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.0 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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