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Illinois and Colorado square off in first round of NCAA Tournament

Colorado Buffaloes (22-11, 13-8 Big 12) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (21-11, 11-10 Big Ten)

Nashville, Tennessee; Saturday, 9:30 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Fighting Illini -3.5; over/under is 132.5

BOTTOM LINE: Illinois plays in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against Colorado.

The Fighting Illini’s record in Big Ten games is 11-10, and their record is 10-1 in non-conference play. Illinois is 3-1 in one-possession games.

The Buffaloes are 13-8 against Big 12 teams. Colorado has a 2-3 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

Illinois makes 45.7% of its shots from the field this season, which is 6.3 percentage points higher than Colorado has allowed to its opponents (39.4%). Colorado averages 67.8 points per game, 1.7 more than the 66.1 Illinois allows.

TOP PERFORMERS: Berry Wallace is shooting 47.4% and averaging 18.4 points for the Fighting Illini. Cearah Parchment is averaging 14.2 points over the last 10 games.

Desiree Wooten is averaging 13.3 points and 1.6 steals for the Buffaloes. Zyanna Walker is averaging 11.9 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 5-5, averaging 75.7 points, 29.8 rebounds, 15.6 assists, 6.8 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.0 points per game.

Buffaloes: 7-3, averaging 67.2 points, 32.6 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 7.2 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.7 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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