Preview: Illinois at Michigan

[January 21, 2017]  Illinois looks to beat Michigan for the second time in 10 days when it travels to Ann Arbor on Saturday. The Fighting Illini shot the lights out in the 85-69 win against the Wolverines on Jan. 11, but have since dropped two straight games, including a 91-68 setback to No. 22 Purdue on Tuesday, and hope to bounce back by downing the Wolverines in back-to-back meetings for the first time since 2010-11.

Illinois has struggled on the road in Big Ten play, losing all three of its games by an average margin of 21 points and aims to avoid dropping to 2-5 in conference play for the second straight season. Michigan is heading in the wrong direction following a 68-64 loss to 17th-ranked Wisconsin on Wednesday. The Wolverines have lost three of their last four games and are in serious danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years with a daunting seven-game stretch looming against teams higher than them in the Big Ten standings. "The schedule is just going to get tougher now," Michigan coach John Beilein told reporters. "It's going to be a heck of a challenge as you're only as good as your last game."

TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT ILLINOIS (12-7, 2-4 Big Ten): Senior center Maverick Morgan led the Fighting Illini with 15 points in the loss against Purdue to finish in double figures for the eighth time in the last nine games. Morgan ruffled some feathers in Ann Arbor when he told reporters that Michigan was "more of a white-collar team traditionally while at Illinois we're about toughness…" following the Fighting Illini's victory over the Wolverines last week. Malcolm Hill tallied 12 points against the Boilermakers to move within 18 of reaching 1,600 points for his career.

ABOUT MICHIGAN (12-7, 2-4): Senior guard Zak Irvin poured in a game-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists in the loss to Wisconsin. Derrick Walton Jr. went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line en route to 15 points, but was one of three players to foul out despite the Wolverines being ranked second nationally in fewest fouls per game (14.6). Walton leads the Big Ten in free-throw percentage (90.5) and needs 37 more free throw attempts to qualify for the program's single-season record held by Louis Bullock, who shot 91.1 percent in 1997-98.

TIP-INS

1. Michigan has won the last six home meetings with Illinois.

2. The Fighting Illini have dropped seven consecutive road games overall.

3. The Wolverines lead the nation in fewest turnovers per game (9.2).

PREDICTION: Michigan 76, Illinois 73

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