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Stojakovic leads No. 11 Illinois against No. 4 Purdue after 30-point showing

Illinois Fighting Illini (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten) at Purdue Boilermakers (17-2, 7-1 Big Ten)

West Lafayette, Indiana; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 11 Illinois plays No. 4 Purdue after Andrej Stojakovic scored 30 points in Illinois’ 89-70 victory over the Maryland Terrapins.

The Boilermakers are 10-1 in home games. Purdue is 14-2 against opponents over .500.

The Fighting Illini are 7-1 against Big Ten opponents. Illinois ranks eighth in college basketball with 39.0 rebounds per game. David Mirkovic leads the Fighting Illini with 8.4.

Purdue makes 51.0% of its shots from the field this season, which is 11.4 percentage points higher than Illinois has allowed to its opponents (39.6%). Illinois averages 17.2 more points per game (85.3) than Purdue gives up (68.1).

The Boilermakers and Fighting Illini meet Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Braden Smith is scoring 14.5 points per game with 3.7 rebounds and 9.1 assists for the Boilermakers. Oscar Cluff is averaging 12.6 points and 7.1 rebounds over the past 10 games.

Keaton Wagler averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Fighting Illini, scoring 15.9 points while shooting 39.4% from beyond the arc. Stojakovic is averaging 14 points and 5.6 rebounds over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Boilermakers: 9-1, averaging 83.1 points, 32.2 rebounds, 20.8 assists, 6.9 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 52.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.2 points per game.

Fighting Illini: 9-1, averaging 82.3 points, 37.7 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 3.4 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.0 points.

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

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
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