Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-7, 1-3 Big Ten) at Illinois Fighting Illini (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten)
Champaign, Illinois; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Rutgers visits No. 16 Illinois after Tariq Francis scored 30 points in Rutgers’ 88-85 overtime victory over the Oregon Ducks.
The Fighting Illini have gone 7-1 in home games. Illinois is 0-1 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Scarlet Knights are 1-3 in Big Ten play. Rutgers is 4-2 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 11.2 turnovers per game.
Illinois averages 10.2 made 3-pointers per game, 2.1 more made shots than the 8.1 per game Rutgers gives up. Rutgers has shot at a 40.6% rate from the field this season, 1.0 percentage point greater than the 39.6% shooting opponents of Illinois have averaged.
The Fighting Illini and Scarlet Knights meet Thursday for the first time in Big Ten play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Keaton Wagler is averaging 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Fighting Illini. Tomislav Ivisic is averaging 1.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Francis is shooting 45.8% and averaging 14.9 points for the Scarlet Knights. Dylan Grant is averaging 12.4 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 7-3, averaging 82.9 points, 36.5 rebounds, 15.4 assists, 3.7 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.8 points per game.
Scarlet Knights: 4-6, averaging 68.3 points, 29.6 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 7.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 39.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.5 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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