Rutgers puts streak on line vs Illinois
Rutgers (12-3, 3-1) vs. Illinois (11-5, 3-2)
State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois; Saturday, 12 a.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Rutgers looks for its seventh straight win of the season as it battles Illinois. Rutgers is looking to extend its current six-game winning streak. Illinois is coming off a 71-70 road win over Wisconsin on Wednesday.
TEAM LEADERSHIP: The Scarlet Knights are led by sophomores Ron Harper Jr. and Myles Johnson. Harper has averaged 12.4 points and 6.3 rebounds while Johnson has recorded 9.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest. The Fighting Illini have been led by Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu, who have combined to score 30.3 points per outing.
CLAMPING DOWN: The Fighting Illini have given up only 60.8 points per game across five conference games, an improvement from the 68 per game they gave up to non-conference opponents.ROBUST RON: Harper has connected on 30 percent of the 50 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 6 of 16 over his last five games. He’s also converted 72.2 percent of his foul shots this season.
STREAK STATS: Illinois has won its last four home games, scoring an average of 74.5 points while giving up 54.5.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Illini have recently created baskets via assists more often than the Scarlet Knights. Illinois has an assist on 39 of 76 field goals (51.3 percent) across its past three matchups while Rutgers has assists on 42 of 94 field goals (44.7 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Illinois is ranked fourth among Division I teams with an offensive rebound percentage of 38.7 percent. The Fighting Illini have averaged 13.3 offensive boards per game.
