Preview: Austin Peay at Illinois

[December 06, 2017]  Gracenote

Illinois looks to end a three-game slide when it resumes non-conference play at home to Austin Peay on Wednesday. The Fighting Illini fell to Wake Forest 80-73 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Nov. 28 before dropping back-to-back overtime decisions to Northwestern (72-68) and Maryland (92-91) in conference action and they hope to bounce back from their tight defeats by beating the Governors for the fourth consecutive time.

"At some point the team has to come together and start making some winning plays down the stretch," Illinois guard Aaron Jordan told reporters. "We're in Big Ten play now and everyone is good." Illinois has won its last eight non-conference home games, including a 77-74 win against Ohio Valley Conference foe UT Martin on Nov. 12. The Fighting Illini have won the last three matchups with Austin Peay by an average margin of 41.3 points and aim to extend their winning streak over OVC opponents to five games since the 2013-14 season. The Governors bounced back from a 79-63 setback to Oklahoma State with a solid 67-47 win against Alabama A&M and hope to end a four-game road losing skid.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, BTN

ABOUT AUSTIN PEAY (4-4): Steve Harris came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points as the Governors held an opponent to under 50 points for the first time since 2010. Averyl Ugba also tallied 15 points and Terry Taylor matched his career high by pulling down 13 rebounds against the Bulldogs. Taylor was named the OVC Freshman of the Week after averaging 10 points and 12 rebounds over his last three games, including a 15-point, 11-rebound showing in the loss to Oklahoma State on Nov. 29.

 

ABOUT ILLINOIS (6-3, 0-2 Big Ten): Leron Black scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the second half and pulled down five rebounds against Maryland to finish in double figures for the sixth straight game. Mark Alstork added 17 points while Jordan went 3-of-5 from 3-point land en route to 15 points and is 16-of-21 from beyond the arc over his last five games. Trent Frazier contributed 11 points and seven assists as the Fighting Illini forced 25 turnovers and recorded 16 steals in the loss to the Terrapins.

TIP-INS

1. Jordan leads the nation in 3-point percentage (65.7).

2. Illinois has forced 42 turnovers in its last two games.

3. Austin Peay is 4-0 when winning the rebounding battle this season.

PREDICTION: Illinois 87, Austin Peay 70

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