The No. 18-ranked Indiana Hoosiers (22-6) finish out the regular season on the road at State Farm Center when they square off with the Illinois Fighting Illini (12-15). The game gets underway at 9:00 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 25 and will air on ESP and ES3.
The Fighting Illini were beaten by Wisconsin 69-60 on Sunday. Malcolm Hill finished with 20 points to lead the team. The Hoosiers are coming off a 77-73 win over Purdue on Saturday. Troy Williams shot 7 for 11 and led in scoring with 19 points.
Hill has really been playing well as of late for the Fighting Illini, averaging 19.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.2 three-pointers over the last five games.
When considering eFG%, the Hoosiers figure to have a substantial advantage on the offensive end. They rank fourth in the nation in that category at 58.7%, whereas the bottom-tier defense of Illinois ranks 311th in eFG% defense with opponents connecting at a clip of 53.0%.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Hoosiers won the first game 103-69. Williams was a standout player in the game, producing 21 points, four rebounds, five assists, one steal, and two three-pointers.
Notes
Ranked fourth, the Indiana Hoosiers have an offensive rating of 120.5. The Illinois Fighting Illini, on the other hand, rank 236th with a defensive rating of 106.0.
Indiana has the fourth-ranked average field goal percentage at 50.2%. Illinois has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage (0-5).
The Illinois Fighting Illini rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (199th) than their field goal percentage (236th). The Indiana Hoosiers rank fourth for both their FG% and eFG%.
Indiana ranks 27th in assists, recording 16.4 per game. Illinois performs worse at 151st with 13.7 assists per game.
The Indiana Hoosiers rank 83rd in offensive rebounds. The Illinois Fighting Illini rank 226th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, Illinois forces a turnover rate of 18.7%. When Indiana turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 9-4 record.
