I was reading through the preview story for Saturday's Illinois-Iowa game and I noticed that Iowa is last in the Big Ten in scoring. Ya mean somebody is actually worse than Illinois?
Yep, it's true. Iowa is averaging a league-worst 56.3 points per game. Illinois is averaging a robust 64.7. Of course, the Illini did have one three-game stretch of offensive competency where they scored 75, 79 and 84 points, respectively, against Purdue, Indiana and Minnesota.
That skews the numbers. Anyone who has followed the Illini closely this year knows that it is typically a struggle for that team to get to 60 points. We've seen a 41-point clunker against Michigan State, a 43-point clunker against Michigan and several other games in the low 50s.
If for some reason you are inclined to watch this game, don't expect a shooting clinic. The Illini make just 31 percent from behind the 3-point arc and a league-worst 60 percent at the foul line. Iowa isn't much better: 35 percent on 3s and 65 percent at the line.
The only good news is this brick fest won't be seen by most cable viewers in the Chicago area. That's right, it's on the Big Ten Network.
First team to 40 points wins!
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