Scouting area basketball teams
Illinois (15-2, 3-1) at Michigan State (14-2, 4-0)
When: 3 p.m. at Breslin Center
TV: ESPN Radio: WIND 560-AM
Skinny: The seventh-ranked Spartans put their 10-game winning streak on the line against an Illini squad that showed no fear when it had to play at then-No. 9 Purdue on Dec. 30. But in that game, the Boilers had a few injuries. In this game, Illini guards Chester Frazier and Alex Legion are dealing with injuries. Frazier, who'll be assigned to slow down study point guard Kalin Lucas, needed an X-ray after Wednesday's win over Michigan to ferret out a foot problem. The X-ray was inconclusive, but expect Frazier to battle as if nothing's wrong. Legion sprained his ankle Tuesday and was limited Wednesday, but Bruce Weber thinks he'll be OK today. The real issue today? The Illini need to crash the glass collectively to slow down the Big Ten's dominant rebounding team. Michigan State's plus-10.1 margin ranks fourth in the country.
Cincinnati (11-6, 1-3) at DePaul (8-9, 0-4)
When: 1 p.m. at Allstate Arena
TV: ESPNU Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Skinny: The Demons have had a week to digest their 22-point home loss to USF and decide where they want to go from there. Sophomore guard Dar Tucker, for example, is averaging 15.5 points in Big East play, but he's taking 15.3 shots per game to get there. DePaul's also allowing league teams to shoot 48 percent overall and 41 percent on 3-pointers. The Bearcats, who are led by Deonta Vaughn's 15.4 points per game, look like a similar squad. They don't shoot too well and they haven't defended well in the Big East. However, Cincinnati does pound the boards much better than DePaul. The Bearcats also have faced better competition as their losses (Florida State, Xavier, at Memphis, at Marquette, Providence and Connecticut) are all to strong teams.
Butler (15-1, 6-0) at UIC (9-7, 2-4)
When: 1 p.m. at UIC Pavilion
TV: ESPN2 Audio: uicflames.com
Skinny: Flames coach Jimmy Collins and Butler coach Brad Stevens are going barefoot today to help out Samaritan's Feet, but it's fair to say Collins would walk on hot coals, too, if his guys can rise to this nationally televised challenge. UIC snapped a four-game losing streak with Thursday's 25-point win over Valpo. Sophomore guard Robo Kreps snapped a prolonged slump with his 23 points. Keeps entered the night 1 for his last 20 3-point tries, but he canned 3 of 6 vs. Valpo to take some heat off hounded senior Josh Mayo. Butler has beaten UIC four in a row, but the Flames lost by just 5 points last year at home and knocked off the Bulldogs two years ago.
Valparaiso (5-13, 2-5) at Loyola (10-8, 2-4)
When: 3 p.m. at Gentile Center
TV: WYIN Channel 56 Radio: WLUW 88.7-FM
Skinny: Butler overwhelmed Loyola virtually from the jump Thursday night and the Ramblers bench wound up playing 60 percent of the minutes. That suggests Loyola's starters should have plenty in the tank - and plenty of motivation - to salvage the weekend against the Crusaders. If there's any good news for the Ramblers, it's that junior power forward Andy Polka touched out four minutes in his first action in a month since injuring his ankle. Loyola needs him back, just as it needs J.R. Blount and Justin Cerasoli to regain their games. Blount missed all 6 of his shots against Butler while Cerasoli coughed up 4 turnovers and shot 2-for-7 in 22 minutes.
NIU (5-9, 1-1) at Western Michigan (5-10, 2-0)
When: 1 p.m. at University Arena
Radio: WLBK 1360-AM
Skinny: If you're into comparison scores, this stacks up as an even battle. NIU bounced Toledo by 24 points a few days before WMU bounced Toledo by 18. Then again, Loyola won at WMU by 3 but at NIU by 10. Senior forward Sean Smith should make his fourth straight start as he gives the Huskies more size for their 3-2 zone as well as more perimeter shooting. Smith leads the MAC in 3-point shooting at 54.2 percent (13 of 24). David Kool leads the Broncos with 17.2 points per game and 32 3-pointers. WMU shoots just 30 percent from beyond the arc, so expect NIU to stick with its zone that worked well against Toledo and Ball State.
- Lindsey Willhite