Opponent: Illinois
Records: Illinois 14-8, 6-3; Iowa 8-14, 2-7
When: Wednesday 7:30 p.m.
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City
Series: Illinois 77-66
Quad-Cities TV: Big Ten Network
Quad-Cities radio: WOC (1420 AM), KROS (1340 AM), WMT (600 AM), WHO (1040 AM)
You need to know/Illinois
— The Fighting Illini hit the midpoint of the Big Ten schedule in a four-way tie for second place in the conference.
— Illinois has shot 52.1 percent over its last three games after shooting 39.5 percent over a six-game stretch from Jan. 2-19. The Illini have overcome that with defense, leading the Big Ten in field-goal percentage defense and ranking third in 3-point field-goal percentage defense. Illinois has limited league foes to 38.4 percent shooting and 29.3 percent from 3-point range.
— Demetri McCamey has accounted for 47 percent of the Illini offensive in Big Ten play, scoring 143 points and assisting on another 152 points. That adds up to having a hand in 295 of the 626 points Illinois has scored through nine league games. The junior leads the Big Ten in assists.
— D.J. Richardson, who led Illinois with 17 points in its 59-42 win over Iowa last month, has averaged 14.3 points on 54.5-percent shooting over the Illini’s last four games. Richardson ranks second on the Big Ten 3-point shooting charts. The freshman has hit 45.2 percent of his attempts from behind the arc.
— Mike Davis has played off the bench in Illinois’ last two games, but continues to lead the Big Ten in rebounding at 8.9 per game.
— Illinois has had eight games decided by five points or less and 14 games decided by fewer than 10 points this season. The Illini are 7-7 in those 14 games.
You need to know/Iowa
— After losing last week to Ohio State and at Michigan, Iowa is 2-7 at the midpoint of the conference season for the second straight year.
— Iowa is 3-3 over its last six games and during that stretch, the Hawkeyes have allowed 6.2 fewer points than they allowed over the first 16 games of the season.
— Eric May led the Hawkeyes in their 59-42 loss at Illinois with nine points and three assists. Aaron Fuller grabbed what was then a career-high nine rebounds to go with six points while Matt Gatens had eight points and four rebounds.
— Gatens continues to cope with a sprained ankle that has limited his production and mobility in Iowa’s last two games. The sophomore has been held to single digits in each of the Hawkeyes’ last three games — a first in his college career — and has attempted just two free throws in that span. Gatens is 57-of-67 at the line this season and his 57 makes equals the most attempts by any other player on the team. Fuller has attempted 57 free throws.
— Iowa has won two if its last three games with Illinois in Iowa City, but lost a 58-47 game in the Illini’s last visit.
— The Hawkeyes have won two of their last three games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Batterson’s call
Illinois 64, Iowa 59
Probable lineups
Illinois
F Bill Cole, 6-9, jr., 4.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg
F Tyler Griffey, 6-9, fr., 3.2, 1.7
C Mike Tisdale, 7-1, jr., 11.8, 6.1
G Demetri McCamey, 6-3, jr., 15.1, 3.0
G D.J. Richardson, 6-3, fr., 11.1, 2.8
Iowa
F Aaron Fuller, 6-6, soph., 8.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg
C Jarryd Cole, 6-7, jr., 8.1, 5.4
G Matt Gatens, 6-5, soph., 12.1, 4.4
G Cully Payne, 6-1, fr., 8.2, 3.0
G Eric May, 6-5, fr., 9.3, 5.1
Next tip
Iowa at Ohio State, 11 a.m., Sunday
