Breaking down UNLV vs. Illinois

Posted December 15, 2011 11:00 pm

By Mike Spellman

UNLV (10-2) vs. Illinois (10-0)

When: 4 p.m. Saturday at the United Center

TV: BTN

The skinny: The United Center may not be the Illini’s official home court, but it certainly is a comfortable neutral site. The 19th-ranked Illini, who are off to their best start since 2005-06, enter Saturday’s game with a 32-10 record all-time at the UC. Each team has four players averaging double figures in scoring. The Running Rebels are paced by swingman Chace Stanback (14.3), while the Illini are led by guard D.J. Richardson (13.7).

The last time these two teams met was in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament at Tulsa, a 73-62 Illini win. Overall, Illinois is 3-0 against UNLV.

Central Connecticut (5-4) at Northwestern (8-1)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena

Radio: WGN 720-AM

The skinny: Northwestern quickly got over a tough loss to Baylor with a 30-point thumping of Texas Southern on Thursday. As usual, the Wildcats were led by John Shurna (20 points) and Drew Crawford (17), and were buoyed by the return of JerShon Cobb, who missed three games with a concussion. Cobb came off the bench to score 10 points. Central Connecticut comes in on a two-game skid, including a 20-point loss to Michigan State.

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