Preview: Central Michigan at Illinois

[December 10, 2016]  Illinois looks to stay on the winning track when it hosts Central Michigan on Saturday. The Fighting Illini have notched three consecutive victories, including an 85-77 triumph over IUPUI on Tuesday, to improve to 7-3 for the second time in three seasons, and hope to notch their sixth straight win over Mid-American Conference opponents.

Illinois has surrendered at least 72 points in five of its last six games and hopes to tighten up defensively against a high-flying Central Michigan squad, which is ranked fourth nationally in scoring offense (91.7). "We'll see what the main things are we need to get a handle on especially at the defensive end because Saturday we have Central Michigan coming in here at 8-2," Illinois coach John Groce told reporters. "They are an absolute load and we're going to have to play better." The Chippewas are feeling good about themselves after a 107-97 victory over Green Bay pushed their winning streak to four games. Central Michigan is off to its best start in two years and hopes to beat a Big Ten foe on the road for the second straight time after shocking Northwestern 80-67 on Dec. 17, 2014.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, BTN Plus

ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (8-2): Marcus Keene, who is the reigning MAC West Division Player of the Week, set career highs with 40 points and 11 assists in the win against Green Bay. Braylon Rayson, who is listed as 5-9 along with Keene, matched his career high with 30 points as the backcourt duo combined for 70 of the Chippewas' 107 points against the Phoenix. "We might have the smallest backcourt but we might also have the most difficult backcourt to defend at our level," Central Michigan coach Keno Davis told reporters. "I can't even imagine trying to figure out how to stop these guys."

ABOUT ILLINOIS (7-3): Senior guard Malcolm Hill poured in a game-high 32 points in the win against IUPUI to move past Jerry Hester and Frank Williams in 16th spot on the Illini's all-time scoring list. Leron Black continued his inspired play as he scored 16 points and corralled nine rebounds against the Jaguars to finish with at least 15 points for the fourth consecutive game. Senior guard Tracy Abrams added seven points and six assists to move within four points of becoming the 49th player in program history to reach 1,000 in his career.

TIP-INS

1. Hill has scored 30 or more points six times in his career.

2. Illinois has beaten its last four MAC opponents by an average margin of 27 points.

3. Central Michigan has scored 100 or more points in three games this season.

PREDICTION: Illinois 87, Central Michigan 83

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