Domask leads No. 9 Illinois against No. 1 Purdue

Published Jan. 4, 2024 3:43 a.m. ET
Associated Press

Illinois Fighting Illini (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten) at Purdue Boilermakers (13-1, 2-1 Big Ten)

West Lafayette, Indiana; Friday, 8:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 9 Illinois takes on the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers after Marcus Domask scored 32 points in Illinois' 96-66 win against the Northwestern Wildcats.

The Boilermakers have gone 7-0 in home games. Purdue has a 9-0 record in games decided by 10 or more points.

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The Fighting Illini have gone 2-0 against Big Ten opponents. Illinois is the Big Ten leader with 29.9 defensive rebounds per game led by Quincy Guerrier averaging 5.8.

Purdue averages 85.4 points, 19.9 more per game than the 65.5 Illinois allows. Illinois averages 16.9 more points per game (83.9) than Purdue allows to opponents (67.0).

The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Braden Smith is averaging 12.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.9 steals for the Boilermakers. Zach Edey is averaging 23.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over the past 10 games for Purdue.

Terrence Shannon Jr. is scoring 21.7 points per game with 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Fighting Illini. Domask is averaging 14.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 45.9% over the last 10 games for Illinois.

LAST 10 GAMES: Boilermakers: 9-1, averaging 85.4 points, 41.2 rebounds, 18.5 assists, 6.0 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.2 points per game.

Fighting Illini: 9-1, averaging 88.3 points, 46.2 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 4.2 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 49.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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