No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini take on No. 24 Gonzaga Bulldogs in NCAAB action Saturday
The favorites of the West Coast Conference, the Gonzaga Bulldogs will take on the leader of the Big 10, the Illinois Fighting Illini this Saturday December 4th. Illinois will enter this game ranked 21st in the country and Gonzaga is ranked 24th.
Illinois faced the North Carolina Tar Heels earlier in the week and now set their sights on the perennial NCAA Tournament darlings, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Fighting Illini is led by senior guard Demetri McCamey and sophomore guard Brandon Paul. Paul has been shooting 42 percent from the three point line and McCamey is shooting at a 48 percent clip behind the three point arc.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are shooting 36.4 percent from the three point line as a team. Steven Gray is the leading scorer on Gonzaga averaging 22 points per game and he is shooting 39 percent from three point land. The senior is the unquestioned leader of this year’s edition of the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Rebounding is not a strong suit of either team or the team leaders are both under eight rebounds per game. The leader for the Gonzaga Bulldogs on the boards is junior center Robert Sacre who averages 6.6 rebounds per game and is a major force in the middle. Illinois senior center Mike Tisdale is averaging 7.6 rebounds per game and is 7’1″ major body to deal with inside the paint.
Illinois has one game against a ranked opponent, the Texas Longhorns and that is their one loss. Gonzaga has two losses this season. One is a loss to No. 3 Kansas State and the other loss was to an under rated San Diego State team.
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