Wisconsin Badgers (23-9, 15-6 Big Ten) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (24-7, 15-5 Big Ten)
Chicago; Friday, 2:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Fighting Illini -7.5; over/under is 156.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 9 Illinois and No. 23 Wisconsin square off in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Fighting Illini’s record in Big Ten play is 15-5, and their record is 9-2 in non-conference games. Illinois is 0-4 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Badgers are 15-6 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin scores 83.3 points while outscoring opponents by 7.5 points per game.
Illinois averages 11.0 made 3-pointers per game, 2.9 more made shots than the 8.1 per game Wisconsin allows. Wisconsin has shot at a 45.3% rate from the field this season, 4.3 percentage points above the 41.0% shooting opponents of Illinois have averaged.
The teams meet for the second time this season. Wisconsin won 92-90 in the last matchup on Feb. 11. Nicholas Boyd led Wisconsin with 25 points, and Keaton Wagler led Illinois with 34 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: David Mirkovic is averaging 13.2 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Fighting Illini. Jake Davis is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Boyd is scoring 20.2 points per game with 3.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Badgers. John Blackwell is averaging 19.5 points over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 82.8 points, 36.3 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 4.1 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.1 points per game.
Badgers: 7-3, averaging 83.5 points, 29.2 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 5.6 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.4 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
