Central Plains FFA Chapter

04/03 03:43 CDT UConn and Illinois meet in the Final 4 UConn and Illinois meet in the Final 4 By The Associated Press Illinois Fighting Illini (28-8, 16-6 Big Ten) vs. UConn Huskies (33-5, 19-4 Big East) Indianapolis; Saturday, 6:09 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Fighting Illini -1.5; over/under is 139.5 BOTTOM LINE: No. 7 UConn and No. 13 Illinois play in the NCAA Tournament Final Four. The Huskies' record in Big East play is 19-4, and their record is 14-1 in non-conference games. UConn scores 77.1 points and has outscored opponents by 11.9 points per game. The Fighting Illini are 16-6 in Big Ten play. Illinois is 0-5 in games decided by 3 points or fewer. UConn's average of 8.2 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.2 fewer made shots on average than the 8.4 per game Illinois allows. Illinois averages 10.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 4.8 more made shots on average than the 5.9 per game UConn allows. The teams meet for the second time this season. UConn won 74-61 in the last matchup on Nov. 28. Solomon Ball led UConn with 15 points, and Kylan Boswell led Illinois with 25 points. TOP PERFORMERS: Tarris Reed Jr. is averaging 14.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks for the Huskies. Alex Karaban is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. Keaton Wagler is averaging 17.9 points and 4.3 assists for the Fighting Illini. David Mirkovic is averaging 14.8 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Huskies: 8-2, averaging 71.2 points, 32.7 rebounds, 17.7 assists, 6.8 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.9 points per game. Fighting Illini: 7-3, averaging 82.8 points, 36.0 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 4.1 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.0 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.