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GAME NOTES: The Illinois Fighting Illini and the Iowa Hawkeyes will meet at Carver-Hawkeye Arena tonight in Big Ten Conference action.

Illinois has won its last two outings to move to 14-8 overall and 6-3 in conference, but the club has yet to record a victory over an elite league opponent. After all, four of the six Big Ten wins have come over Indiana and Penn State. On Saturday, the Illini barely beat the Hoosiers at home in a 72-70 final.

As for Iowa, it has lost back-to-back games to fall to 8-14 overall and 2-7 in Big Ten play. It is hard to imagine the Hawkeyes playing any worse at the offensive end than they did in Saturday's 60-46 loss to Michigan. They have failed to reach the 60-point plateau in three consecutive outings, proof of their offensive struggles.

Illinois crushed Iowa back on January 5th by a 59-42 final, and the Illini own a 77-66 advantage in the all-time series.

There are four double-digit scorers in the fold for Illinois, which is averaging 74.8 ppg while limiting opponents to 67.6 ppg on 40 percent shooting. Demetri McCamey is tops with 15.1 ppg, and he is dishing out 6.1 apg. Mike Tisdale provides 11.8 ppg, and he also provides 6.1 rpg and 39 blocks. D.J. Richardson adds 11.1 ppg, and Mike Davis rounds out the group with 10.7 ppg and 8.9 rpg. Strong defense was key to the win over Indiana last time out, as the Illini limited the Hoosiers to 35 percent shooting from the floor. The fact that Indiana didn't hit a shot from the field over the final five minutes of the contest is remarkable. McCamey was the hero, as he nailed a jumper at the buzzer to break a 70-70 tie and lift Illinois to victory.

Iowa is netting a mere 61.8 ppg this season on 41.9 percent shooting from the floor, and the team averages just 13 assists per contest. Matt Gatens is the leading scorer for the Hawkeyes, but he isn't going to scare many opponents with his modest 12.1 ppg. He gets very little help from a weak supporting cast and entered the last game as the only active double-digit scorer on the roster. Against Michigan, Iowa shot a woeful 6-of-28 from the floor in the first half and trailed by 12 points at intermission. An 11-of-27 showing over the final 20 minutes wasn't nearly good enough to mount a comeback. A 44-31 rebounding disadvantage hurt the cause as well. Aaron Fuller led the Hawkeyes with 16 points, while Gatens was held to five points.

Expect the road team to win rather easily, as Illinois is clearly superior to Iowa. The Hawkeyes simply don't score enough points to beat the better Big Ten teams.