ILLINOIS (6-12, 1-6 B1G) vs. No. 7/6 Indiana (16-3, 8-1 B1G)
Date | Time	Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 | 7 p.m. CT
Location	State Farm Center | Champaign, Ill.
Watch	B1G+
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Listen
Live Stats	Sidearm Stats
Printable Notes	Illinois
Indiana	IUHoosiers.com
Shop	Online Store
Social Media	@IlliniWBB  | #Illini | @IlliniWBB  | Facebook | YouTube

The University of Illinois has instituted a proof of COVID-19 vaccination or negative-test protocol for all university sponsored events open to the public with more than 200 people in attendance. This policy will be in effect for Thursday's Illinois vs. Michigan women's basketball game at State Farm Center. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

PREVIEW

Opening Tip
The Fighting Illini open a three-game home stand - all against foes ranked or receiving top-25 votes - beginning Wednesday with a matchup against the No. 7/6-ranked Indiana Hoosiers. 
» Tipoff between the Fighting Illini (6-12, 1-6 B1G) and the Hoosiers (16-3, 8-1 B1G) is set for 7 p.m. CT at State Farm Center. 
» The game will be streamed live on the B1G+ with Scott Sudikoff (play-by-play), George Khouri (analyst), and Spencer Nelson (sideline).
» 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 stats are also available at FightingIllini.com. 

About the Illini
Illinois enters Wednesday's game vs. Indiana with an overall record of 6-12 (1-6 B1G), and will be looking to snap a four-game skid. 
» The Illini are 6-4 at home, but have struggled away from State Farm Center, going 0-7, including a pair of neutral-site losses as part of the Daytona Beach Invitational in November. 
» Offensively, the Illini have opened the season with an improved scoring average from last season. Through 18 games, the Illini are averaging 65.3 points per game, an improvement of nearly six points per game over last year's season average of 59.6 ppg. 
» Illinois enter Wednesday's game vs. Indiana with a 5-1 mark in games in which the Illini offense scores at least 70 points. 
» Leading scorer, sophomore G Aaliyah Nye, is averaging 11.2 ppg, an improvement of more than three points per game from her freshman campaign (8.1 ppg). 
» Junior G De'Myla Brown ranks just behind Nye and is just shy of a double-figures scoring average at 9.6 points per game. 
» Behind Nye and Brown, the Illini's offensive attack has been balanced with seven other players tallying at least one double-digit scoring game, and two others, Adalia McKenzie (8.6) and Jada Peebles (8.0), entering action vs. Indiana averaging better than 8.0 ppg.  
» Sophomore F Kendall Bostic is the top rebounder in the Big Ten Conference and enters play this week ranked fifth nationally at 11.94 rebounds per game.

About Indiana
No. 7/6-ranked Indiana enters Wednesday's game with an overall record of 16-3 (8-1 B1G), and sits one spot behind Michigan in second place in the Big Ten standings. 
» The Hoosiers went 8-2 in non-conference play highlighted by a ranked win over No. 13 Kentucky (88-67), a tight loss on a neutral floor to No. 7 Stanford (69-66), and an eight-point road loss at No. 2 NC State (66-58). 
» IU opened B1G play 6-0 before a three-game pause due to COVID-19. They returned in a 65-50 loss at Michigan on Jan. 31, their lone conference setback, and most recently captured a pair of home wins over Minnesota (80-70) and Purdue (64-57) heading into Wednesday night. 
» Indiana's roster features five returning starters from the team that made a run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight last season. 
» Junior F Mackenzie Holmes (17.9 ppg) leads a roster that includes five double-digit scorers. However, Holmes, who also leads the team in rebounding at 8.2 boards per contest, has been out with an injury since Jan. 5.  
» Behind Holmes, senior G Grace Berger (15.3 ppg), senior F Aleksa Gulbe (12.2), graduate G Nicole Cardano-Hillary (11.8) and graduate G Ali Patberg (11.5) all provided a potent offensive spark. 
» Defensively, the team ranks second in the Big Ten in both field-goal percentage defense (381), and scoring defense (58.7 ppg). The team allows opponents to shoot just .300 from three-point range, third in the conference. 
» Head coach Teri Moren is in her ninth season at the helm of the IU program. She previously coached at UIndy (2000-07) and Indiana State (2010-14). 

Series vs. Indiana
Wednesday's matchup vs. No. 7 Indiana marks the 76th in the series between the Illini and the Hoosiers dating back to 1974-75. 
» Illinois trails in the all-time series, 30-45. The Illini are 17-18 vs. Indiana in games played in Champaign, while posting a 10-25 mark in Bloomington, and a 3-2 record in neutral-site contests. 
» The Hoosiers have won 12 straight in the series, with Illinois' last victory coming in a 73-60 home win on Feb. 23, 2013. 
» Combined, the last three games Illinois-Indiana games played at State Farm Center have been decided by a total of just 15 points. Indiana won an 85-83 overtime game on Dec. 12, 2018. The next season, the Illini played to a 59-54 setback vs. the No. 20-ranked Hoosiers, and last season No. 15 IU escaped with an eight-point win, 58-50. 

Up Next
The Fighting Illini continue a three-game home stand on Saturday, playing host to Nebraska at State Farm Center. 
» Tipoff between the Illini and the Cornhuskers is set for 2 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed live on B1G+. 
» Nebraska (17-5, 6-5 B1G) is first scheduled to visit Ohio State on Thursday night. 
» The matchup was re-scheduled from Jan. 23 after initially being postponed and replaced with a road game at Iowa on the Illini schedule due to positive COVID-19 tests within the Huskers program.

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)