Graymont Cooperative Assn

03/21 02:41 CDT Illinois Fighting Illini play Creighton Bluejays in first round of NCAA Tournament Illinois Fighting Illini play Creighton Bluejays in first round of NCAA Tournament By The Associated Press Creighton Bluejays (26-6, 18-3 Big East) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (21-9, 11-8 Big Ten) Austin, Texas; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Fighting Illini -1; over/under is 137.5 BOTTOM LINE: Illinois and No. 23 Creighton play in the NCAA Tournament opening round. The Fighting Illini are 11-8 against Big Ten opponents and 10-1 in non-conference play. Illinois is 1-0 in games decided by less than 4 points. The Bluejays' record in Big East play is 18-3. Creighton is seventh in the Big East with 29.5 rebounds per game led by Morgan Maly averaging 5.8. Illinois is shooting 43.5% from the field this season, 0.9 percentage points higher than the 42.6% Creighton allows to opponents. Creighton has shot at a 44.9% rate from the field this season, 4.6 percentage points higher than the 40.3% shooting opponents of Illinois have averaged. TOP PERFORMERS: Kendall Bostic is averaging 15.9 points and 11.1 rebounds for the Fighting Illini. Genesis Bryant is averaging 17.6 points over the last 10 games. Lauren Jensen is shooting 45.5% and averaging 17.7 points for the Bluejays. Maly is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 68.6 points, 31.3 rebounds, 15.6 assists, 5.3 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 42.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.2 points per game. Bluejays: 8-2, averaging 67.8 points, 30.8 rebounds, 16.5 assists, 6.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 43.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.8 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.