Illinois Fighting Illini play the Chattanooga Mocs in first round of NCAA Tournament

Chattanooga Mocs (27-7, 14-4 SoCon) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (22-9, 15-5 Big Ten)

Pittsburgh; Friday, 6:50 p.m. EDT

LINE: Illinois -8; over/under is 135.5

BOTTOM LINE: The No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini face the Chattanooga Mocs in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Fighting Illini are 15-5 against Big Ten opponents. Illinois has a 3-3 record in one-possession games.

The Mocs are 14-4 in SoCon play. Chattanooga is seventh in the SoCon shooting 34.6% from deep. Jamaal Walker paces the Mocs shooting 45.5% from 3-point range.

TOP PERFORMERS: Trent Frazier is averaging 12.1 points and 4.1 assists for the Fighting Illini. Kofi Cockburn is averaging 21.1 points and 10.6 rebounds over the past 10 games for Illinois.

Malachi Smith is averaging 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals for the Mocs. David Jean-Baptiste is averaging 10.2 points over the last 10 games for Chattanooga.

LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 68.4 points, 32.6 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 4.3 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 40.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.1 points per game.

Mocs: 8-2, averaging 70.6 points, 34.1 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 6.0 steals and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.8 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by