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Gordon, Indiana aim to end woes in Illinois

Feb 7, 2008 - 2:48 PM No. 13 Indiana (18-3) at Illinois (10-13) 9:00 pm EST

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) -- Eric Gordon turned his back on Illinois. On Thursday, Gordon will get a chance to show coach Bruce Weber what the Fighting Illini could have had.

Gordon looks for another solid game when 13th-ranked Indiana aims for its first win in Illinois in nine years in a Big Ten Conference showdown.

One of the country's top freshman, Gordon backed out of a verbal committment at Illinois last year. The swingman's latest outstanding performance for the Hoosiers came Sunday, when he scored 29 points while wearing a padded splint on his injured right wrist in a 75-63 win over Northwestern.

Gordon injured the wrist in practice on January 29 but has not missed any time. He scored 16 points in a 62-49 loss to Wisconsin two days later.

Now the Big Ten's leading scorer, Gordon will look to help the Hoosiers snap a six-game losing streak at Assembly Hall. Indiana (18-3, 7-1 Big Ten) has not won in Illinois since 1999.

In the first meeting of the season, Indiana used a 15-4 second-half run to post a 62-58 home win on January 13.

The Fighting Illini (10-13, 2-8), who have won eight of the last 11 meetings between the teams, are looking to bounce back from a 83-75 loss to Purdue on Saturday.

The Hoosiers lead the all-time series, 81-78.