UConn and Illinois square off in the Final 4
Illinois Fighting Illini (28-8, 16-6 Big Ten) vs. UConn Huskies (33-5, 19-4 Big East)
Indianapolis; Saturday, 6:09 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Fighting Illini -1.5; over/under is 139.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 7 UConn and No. 13 Illinois play in the NCAA Tournament Final Four.
The Huskies are 19-4 against Big East opponents and 14-1 in non-conference play. UConn averages 18.4 assists per game to lead the Big East, paced by Silas Demary Jr. with 5.9.
The Fighting Illini are 16-6 against Big Ten teams. Illinois is second in the Big Ten scoring 83.8 points per game and is shooting 46.4%.
UConn’s average of 8.2 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.2 fewer made shots on average than the 8.4 per game Illinois gives up. Illinois has shot at a 46.4% rate from the field this season, 5.9 percentage points higher than the 40.5% shooting opponents of UConn have averaged.
The teams meet for the second time this season. UConn won 74-61 in the last matchup on Nov. 28. Solomon Ball led UConn with 15 points, and Kylan Boswell led Illinois with 25 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tarris Reed Jr. is shooting 62.1% and averaging 14.7 points for the Huskies. Alex Karaban is averaging 13.9 points over the last 10 games.
Keaton Wagler is averaging 17.9 points and 4.3 assists for the Fighting Illini. David Mirkovic is averaging 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Huskies: 8-2, averaging 71.2 points, 32.7 rebounds, 17.7 assists, 6.8 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.9 points per game.
Fighting Illini: 7-3, averaging 82.8 points, 36.0 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 4.1 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.0 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.