Illinois State faces UIC, looks for 5th straight home win

Audio By Carbonatix

UIC Flames (12-13, 9-7 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (17-10, 11-5 MVC)

Normal, Illinois; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Illinois State will try to keep its four-game home win streak intact when the Redbirds face UIC.

The Redbirds have gone 9-3 in home games. Illinois State ranks third in the MVC with 16.2 assists per game led by Maya Wong averaging 4.3.

The Flames have gone 9-7 against MVC opponents. UIC has a 2-1 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

Illinois State makes 47.6% of its shots from the field this season, which is 4.6 percentage points higher than UIC has allowed to its opponents (43.0%). UIC has shot at a 43.5% clip from the field this season, 3.4 percentage points above the 40.1% shooting opponents of Illinois State have averaged.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Elyce Knudsen averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Redbirds, scoring 13.3 points while shooting 38.9% from beyond the arc. Shannon Dowell is averaging 15.6 points and 5.6 rebounds over the past 10 games.

Makiyah Williams is averaging 10.9 points for the Flames. Ky Dempsey-Toney is averaging 11.7 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 7-3, averaging 70.8 points, 32.6 rebounds, 17.3 assists, 4.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.3 points per game.

Flames: 7-3, averaging 67.0 points, 33.7 rebounds, 17.1 assists, 7.8 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 42.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 58.1 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.