Indianapolis,  IN (SportsNetwork.com)  - Tracy Abrams scored 25 points to lead 
the Illinois Fighting Illini to  a 64-54  win over  the Indiana  Hoosiers in 
first-round action of the Big Ten Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. 

Rayvonte  Rice  added 13 points for  the ninth-seeded Illini (19-13), who will 
advance to take on top-seeded Michigan in the quarterfinal round on Friday. 

Yogi Ferrell scored 14 points and Will Sheehey added 13 points for the eighth- 
seeded  Hoosiers  (17-15), who stayed close  with the Illini, but couldn't get 
over the hump in the second half. 

Down 38-33 early in the second half, the Illini went on a 15-2 run to take the 
lead. Ekey's three-pointer with 8:42 left capped the surge and gave Illinois a 
47-40 cushion. 

Indiana remained within striking distance the rest of the way, but could never 
take  the  lead. Austin  Etherington hit  a layup  with 3:13  left to draw the 
Hoosiers  within 53-52,  but after the Illini  came up empty on the other end, 
Noah Vonleh attempted a jumper but was blocked by Nnanna Egwu at the 2:32 mark 
that would've given Indiana the lead. 

Tracy  Abrams  responded with a  three-pointer for  Illinois with 2:06 left to 
extend  the  lead back to two  possessions, 56-52. He  then hit a pair of free 
throws with 1:19 left to make it a six-point game, 58-52. 

Illinois  hit  four more free  throws down the  stretch before Indiana got its 
next bucket to ice the win. 

Kendrick  Nunn ended with 10 points for Illinois, which outscored Indiana 11-2 
to end the game. 

Illinois jumped out to a 9-0, but Indiana responded with a 14-2 run, capped by 
a  Ferrell three-pointer  with 10:38  left. Play  remained close  the rest  of 
the half, with Illinois carrying a 30-28 lead into the break. 

Troy Williams had 11 points for Indiana. 

Illinois faces top-seeded Michigan in today's quarterfinals. Coverage of the game can be heard on Newstalk 97.3 WTIM with pre-game at 10:30am.