The No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini and the Northwestern Wildcats hook up for a nationally televised Big Ten matchup at the Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday (1 pm ET, CBS) The Fighting Illini (15-7, 10-10 ATS, 5-4 Big Ten) were able to stop a brief losing streak in their last game but will need to string some wins together to catch the Purdue Boilermakers and Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten. All three are well back of the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes.Northwestern (13-8 SU, 9-6 ATS, 3-7 Big Ten) is even more desperate for wins, as the Wildcats have lost three straight.
Illinois had been on a two-game slide before it beat the Penn State Nittany Lions 68-51 on Monday. The Fighting Illini covered as an 8-point home favorite and the score stayed under the total of 130. Mike Davis scored 22 points to lead Illinois. He scored 10 points on dunks, much to the delight of the sparse crowd that turned out despite a bitter winter storm. Davis scored seven straight points midway through the second half to give the Illini a 52-39 lead, and Bill Cole added 10 for the Illini. Northwestern got a big confidence boost in its last game, as it almost knocked off No. 1 Ohio State. The Wildcats lost 58-57 but cashed as a 10-point home underdog.
The Wildcats will be out for revenge in this matchup, as they were embarrassed in a 25-point loss against Illinois in their last meeting on Jan. 6. The Fighting Illini cruised to an 88-63 rout and easily cashed as an 8-point home favorite. The score went over the over/under total of 143. Illinois has absolutely owned the Wildcats straight up in the recent head-to-head series, going 9-1 SU in the past 10. Northwestern has played the Fighting Illini close, though, covering in five of those matchups.
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Illinois had been on a two-game slide before it beat the Penn State Nittany Lions 68-51 on Monday. The Fighting Illini covered as an 8-point home favorite and the score stayed under the total of 130. Mike Davis scored 22 points to lead Illinois. He scored 10 points on dunks, much to the delight of the sparse crowd that turned out despite a bitter winter storm. Davis scored seven straight points midway through the second half to give the Illini a 52-39 lead, and Bill Cole added 10 for the Illini. Northwestern got a big confidence boost in its last game, as it almost knocked off No. 1 Ohio State. The Wildcats lost 58-57 but cashed as a 10-point home underdog.
The Wildcats will be out for revenge in this matchup, as they were embarrassed in a 25-point loss against Illinois in their last meeting on Jan. 6. The Fighting Illini cruised to an 88-63 rout and easily cashed as an 8-point home favorite. The score went over the over/under total of 143. Illinois has absolutely owned the Wildcats straight up in the recent head-to-head series, going 9-1 SU in the past 10. Northwestern has played the Fighting Illini close, though, covering in five of those matchups.
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