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Illinois Fighting Illini play the Iowa Hawkeyes in Elite 8

Iowa Hawkeyes (24-12, 12-11 Big Ten) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (27-8, 15-6 Big Ten)

Houston; Saturday, 6:09 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Fighting Illini -6.5; over/under is 138.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 13 Illinois takes on Iowa in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Fighting Illini have gone 15-6 against Big Ten teams, with a 12-2 record in non-conference play. Illinois is second in the Big Ten scoring 84.2 points while shooting 46.4% from the field.

The Hawkeyes are 12-11 in Big Ten play. Iowa averages 75.0 points while outscoring opponents by 8.9 points per game.

Illinois is shooting 46.4% from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points higher than the 45.9% Iowa allows to opponents. Iowa scores 6.0 more points per game (75.0) than Illinois gives up (69.0).

The teams square off for the second time this season. Illinois won the last matchup 75-69 on Jan. 11. Keaton Wagler scored 19 to help lead Illinois to the win, and Tavion Banks scored 16 points for Iowa.

TOP PERFORMERS: Wagler is averaging 17.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Fighting Illini. David Mirkovic is averaging 16.4 points over the last 10 games.

Bennett Stirtz is shooting 47.7% and averaging 19.7 points for the Hawkeyes. Cooper Koch is averaging 3.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 7-3, averaging 82.8 points, 36.4 rebounds, 14.6 assists, 4.2 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.2 points per game.

Hawkeyes: 5-5, averaging 71.8 points, 25.8 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 6.1 steals and 1.0 block per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.7 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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