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 The Scarlet Knights have dropped six in a row since shaking up
the Big Ten landscape with a seismic upset over No. 5 Wisconsin on
Jan. 11. Rutgers has struggled mightily on the offensive end and is
one of the worst-shooting teams in the nation by averaging a paltry
59.1 points per game. The Scarlet Knights played then-No. 21 Indiana
tough at Assembly Hall before running out of gas in the 72-64 loss
and hope to build off that morale-boosting display by snapping their
five-game road skid.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, BTN
ABOUT RUTGERS (10-13, 2-8 Big Ten): Myles Mack scored 20 of his
game-high 24 points in the second half and dished out eight assists
as the Scarlet Knights led with under seven minutes left before
falling to the Hoosiers. "I think Myles was the best player on the
floor," Rutgers coach Eddie Jordan told reporters. "We competed
against a ranked team on their home floor and there were a lot of
positives." Junior Etou added 13 points and six rebounds while
Kadeem Jack scored 11 points to finish in double figures for the
14th time this season.
ABOUT ILLINOIS (14-8, 4-5): Rice leads the team with 17.2 points and
6.9 rebounds per game despite missing the last six outings with a
broken hand while Cosby is averaging 7.8 points. "Hopefully they
will make better choices and make the necessary progress to rejoin
our team," Illinois coach John Groce announced. "I don't enjoy
suspending guys, but we have standards … and I expect those
standards to be adhered to." Malcolm Hill led the way with a
game-high 27 points and scored the winning layup with 4.4 seconds
left versus the Nittany Lions.
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TIP-INS
1. Hill is 10-of-16 from 3-point range in his last three outings.
2. Mack has posted six 20-point games this season.
3. Rutgers has been held to 51 points or less in three of its last
four games.
PREDICTION: Illinois 71, Rutgers 64
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