A historic rivalry resumes this year in the March Madness! Kentucky Wildcats and Illinois Fighting Illini have previously met 15 times with the former holding a 11-4 advantage. Even the last three series advantage is with the Big Blue Nation, but the last game was back in 1984, where the UK held on for a 54-51 victory in the NCAA Mideast Regional final at Rupp Arena. Mark Pope would like to continue his historic run as he leads his alma mater.

It was his first NCAA tournament, and in the debut game, his team easily beat Troy by double digits in the first round at Fiserv Forum. Meanwhile, the University of Illinois beat number 11 seed Xavier 86-73. So, the challenge is set as the 3-seed Wildcats in the Midwest Region, square off with 6-seed Illinois on Sunday. All that’s at stake—advancing to the second weekend of the Big Dance by clinching a Sweet 16 spot. Here’s everything to know before the epic clash.

Who will be taking the field? Injury report and starting 5

The Kentucky Wildcats have a team of different players topping different roles. Otega Oweh is at the top of the Wildcats scoring leaderboard with 16.4 points per game. Amari Williams puts up a stat line of 8.6 rebounds, 10.9 points, and 3.1 assists per game, being the top rebounder for the team. Lamont Butler tops the assist chart with 4.3 per game plus contributes with 11.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Koby Brea is the top shooter from deep for the Wildcats, hitting 2.6 threes per game.

Kentucky:

• Andrew Carr
• Amari Williams
• Otega Oweh
• Koby Brea
• Lamont Butler

Despite a double-digit win against Troy, Mark Pope’s woes continued with injury problems. Kentucky big man Amari Williams had been dealing with a back injury. Even Andrew Carr has had his share of back spasms. Plus, star guard Lamont Butler admitted post-game, “I made it through,” suggesting he’s playing through pain due to the shoulder injury.

Illinois:

• Will Riley
• Tomislav Ivisic
• Kasparas Jakucionis
• Tre White
• Kylan Boswell

For now, there are no reported injuries to the Fighting Illini. Kasparas Jakucionis leads in points and assists with 15.0 points and dishes out 4.8 assists per game. Their best rebounder is Tomislav Ivisic, who averages 7.7 boards per game, plus contributes with an average of 12.8 points. The Illinois steals leader is Kylan Boswell, who averages 1.1 takeaways per game. Will Riley contributed with a team-high 22 points vs. Xavier.

Kentucky vs Illinois: Preview and predictions

The Kentucky Wildcats and Illini are among the top 10 in Division I in scoring offense and outside the top 250 in scoring defense! Teams high on offense and low on defense produce a points-galore match that usually excites the crowd. Many predict this tight contest featuring double-digit lead changes, ties, and swings in momentum.

Illinois Fighting Illini outscores opponents by 9.3 points per game (scoring 83.9 per game to rank ninth in college basketball while allowing 74.6 per contest to rank 258th in college basketball). Kentucky outscores opponents by 7.7 points per game (posting 85.0 points per game, sixth in college basketball, and giving up 77.3 per contest, 315th in college basketball).

In the last 10 games, Kentucky Wildcats averaged 82.1 points, 32.6 rebounds, 15.4 assists, 8.1 steals, and 3.4 blocks per game. Form-wise, they are 6-4 and shoot 47.3% from the field, however, they allow their opponents to score 80.2 points per game. On the other hand, the Fighting Illini are also 6-4, averaging 80.8 points, 34.3 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 3.8 steals and 3.8 blocks per game. Defensively, they have given away opponents 83.1 points per game.