Pennsylvania Quakers (18-11, 11-5 Ivy League) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (24-8, 15-6 Big Ten)
Greenville, South Carolina; Thursday, 9:25 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Fighting Illini -24.5; over/under is 150.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 13 Illinois squares off against Pennsylvania in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Fighting Illini’s record in Big Ten games is 15-6, and their record is 9-2 in non-conference play. Illinois is the Big Ten leader with 37.5 rebounds per game led by David Mirkovic averaging 7.8.
The Quakers are 11-5 in Ivy League play. Pennsylvania is 5-3 in one-possession games.
Illinois is shooting 46.3% from the field this season, 1.2 percentage points higher than the 45.1% Pennsylvania allows to opponents. Pennsylvania has shot at a 44.1% rate from the field this season, 3.1 percentage points above the 41.0% shooting opponents of Illinois have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Keaton Wagler is scoring 17.9 points per game with 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists for the Fighting Illini. Mirkovic is averaging 15.6 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 51.8% over the last 10 games.
Ethan Roberts is shooting 40.1% and averaging 16.9 points for the Quakers. TJ Power is averaging 20.0 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 5-5, averaging 83.8 points, 36.1 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 3.9 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.3 points per game.
Quakers: 9-1, averaging 75.6 points, 32.6 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 8.4 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.5 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.