Mayer leads Illinois against No. 5 Purdue after 24-point showing
Illinois Fighting Illini (20-10, 11-8 Big Ten) at Purdue Boilermakers (25-5, 14-5 Big Ten)
West Lafayette, Indiana; Sunday, 12:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Illinois visits the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers after Matthew Mayer scored 24 points in Illinois' 91-87 overtime victory over the Michigan Wolverines.
The Boilermakers are 13-2 in home games. Purdue is 5-1 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Fighting Illini are 11-8 in Big Ten play. Illinois is second in the Big Ten with 25.7 defensive rebounds per game led by Mayer averaging 4.4.
The Boilermakers and Fighting Illini square off Sunday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Fletcher Loyer averages 1.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Boilermakers, scoring 11.9 points while shooting 33.5% from beyond the arc. Zach Edey is averaging 22.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over the past 10 games for Purdue.
Coleman Hawkins is averaging 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Fighting Illini. Mayer is averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Illinois.
LAST 10 GAMES: Boilermakers: 6-4, averaging 72.1 points, 35.4 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 4.6 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.0 points per game.
Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 72.5 points, 35.0 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 5.7 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.2 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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