Interstate college basketball teams collide on Wednesday night as Illinois State travels to take on UIC. The game at UIC Pavilion can be seen on Comcast SportsNet Plus at 8 p.m.
The Redbirds (4-6) are off to a sluggish start playing a difficult schedule as they've played top-ranked teams like Maryland and Kentucky early in the season. Senior DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell is having a potential All-Missouri Valley season as he's putting up 16.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Illinois State needs to improve its 31-percent 3-point shooting on the season as they look to build on a recent win over Murray State.
UIC (1-6) is still looking for its first win against a Division-I opponent this season as they have lost four straight games. But the Flames looked significantly improved in a loss at the United Center to Illinois over the weekend as they only lost by four points after losing to DePaul and UCF by at least 25 points.
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Freshman guard Dikembe Dixson leads the Flames at 13.3 points and seven rebounds per game while sophomore Tai Odiase is at 10.1 points and five rebounds per game.
This game with Illinois State is in the middle of a stretch in which UIC plays five Illinois opponents in seven contests.