PREVIEW
Opening Tip
The Fighting Illini women's basketball hosts the No. 25-ranked Florida State Seminoles on Thursday night as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Â
» Tipoff between the Fighting Illini (3-3) and the No. 25 Seminoles (4-2) is set for 7 p.m. CT at State Farm Center.
» The game will be streamed live on B1G+ with George Khouri (play-by-play), Alec Gilmore (analyst), and Katie Underwood (sideline). Â
» Mike Koon will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (1400 AM / 93.9 FM).
» Streaming audio and live stat is also available at FightingIllini.com.
About The Illini
Illinois enters Thursday's matchup vs. FSU with a 3-3 record, and are coming off an 0-2 finish with losses to Dayton and Middle Tennessee at the Daytona Beach Invitational over the Thanksgiving weekend.
» The Illini are 3-1 at home this season with wins over NC Central (W, 76-53), Miami (OH) (W, 72-65), and UC Riverside (W, 86-82). The team's lone setback at home this year was a 71-62 decision vs. SIUE.
» Offensively, the new-look Illini have opened the season with a much-improved scoring average from last season. Through six games, the Illini are averaging 66.3 points per game, an improvement of 6.7 points per game over last year's season average of 59.6 ppg.
» Leading scorer, sophomore G Aaliyah Nye, is averaging 12.2 ppg, an improvement of nearly 4 points per game from her freshman campaign (8.1 ppg).
» Behind Nye, the Illini's offensive attack has been balanced with seven other players tallying at least one double-digit scoring game so far this season, and six others - Jayla Oden (9.3), Jada Peebles (8.7),  De'Myla Brown (7.8), Kendall Bostic (7.3), Sara Anastasieska (6.8), and Adalia McKenzie (6.8) - entering action at the Daytona Beach Invitational averaging better than 6.0 ppg. Â
» Sophomore F Kendall Bostic ranks as the team's top rebounder, pulling down 10.0 boards per contest. Bostic enters the week ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 37th nationally in the category.
About Florida State
Florida State comes into Thursday's game with a 4-2 overall record. The Seminoles are ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press top-25 and are receiving votes in the USA Today/WBCA coaches poll.Â
» FSU began the year with four straight home wins over North Florida (78-50), Milwaukee (79-42), Jacksonville (64-39) and Grambling State (76-53).Â
» Most recently, the Seminoles dropped back-to-back games at the St. Pete Showcase in St. Petersburg, Fla., with losses to BYU (61-54) and Purdue (66-61).
» Senior G Morgan Jones, a 2021 WBCA Honorable Mention All-American and All-ACC First Team selection, leads the team in scoring (15.0 ppg), while also tying for the team lead in rebounds (6.7 rpg) and blocks (10). Â
» Redshirt-senior G Bianca Jackson, the team's second-leading scorer at 10.3 ppg, has missed the last three games with an ankle injury.Â
» The Seminoles' starting frontcourt of senior F Valencia Myers (8.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and junior C River Baldwin (6.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg), measure 6-3 and 6-5, respectively on a roster that features seven players at 6-1 or taller.
Series vs. Florida State
Thursday's matchup vs. Florida State marks the second in the series between the Illini and the Seminoles.
» The only matchup in the series took place Dec. 7, 1990, a 78-66 win for the Seminoles on a neutral court in a tournament hosted by the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.s
Current Illini vs. the Seminoles
No members of the current Fighting Illini roster have ever faced the Florida State Seminoles.Â
» During her time at Duke in 2020-21, Illini graduate G Sara Anastasieska was scheduled to play at FSU prior to the Blue Devils' cancellation of their season on in December.Â
» As a freshman at Arizona State in 2017-18, Illini redshirt-senior C Eva Rubin's team fell at No. 13 FSU, 77-66, but Rubin did not play in the contest.
Up Next
The Fighting Illini host Eastern Kentucky at  State Farm Center for a Sunday afternoon contest. Tipoff between the  Illini and the Colonels is set for 2 p.m. CT. EKU is off to a 2-3 and will not play again prior to Sunday's matchup following a 73-60 home loss at the hands of Xavier on Saturday, Nov. 27.
Follow The Illini
For more Fighting Illini women's basketball news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniWBB on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.
FULL GAME NOTES (PDF)
