Illinois @ Northwestern preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2020 ) Northwestern 71, Illinois 75

Illinois looks to stay in the hunt for its first Big Ten regular-season title since 2005 when it visits Northwestern on Thursday. The Fighting Illini have won back-to-back contests, including a 71-59 victory against Nebraska to move within two games of eighth-ranked Maryland at the top of the conference standings, and they hope to stay within striking distance by beating the Wildcats for the fourth consecutive time.

“It’s the Big Ten and everybody’s good,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood told reporters. “We all beat up on each other and there are no easy nights.” Northwestern is in the midst of its longest losing streak in program history after suffering an 83-57 setback to Minnesota on Sunday. The Wildcats, who have dropped 11 straight games, are on pace to finish with their most defeats in a single season since losing 22 in 2007-08, and they have been reduced to playing the role of spoiler as they hope to derail the Fighting Illini’s title ambitions. “Nobody is going to abort the mission,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins told reporters. “It’s definitely no fun to go through but it can be part of a process if we handle it the right way.”

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT ILLINOIS (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten): Ayo Dosunmu paced the Illini attack with 18 points in the win against Nebraska to finish in double figures for the 10th straight game, which is the longest streak of his career. Kofi Cockburn added 15 points and 10 rebounds to register the 11th double-double of his impressive freshman campaign while Alan Griffin provided a boost off the bench with 13 points and seven boards. Andres Feliz produced 11 points and seven rebounds while Trent Frazier also finished with 11 points, including a 70-foot long buzzer beater at the end of the first half.

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (6-20, 1-15): Pete Nance scored a team-high 11 points and Ryan Young added 10 as the Wildcats were limited to 38.7 percent shooting from the field in the loss to Minnesota. Boo Buie tallied nine points and Miller Kopp had eight points and five rebounds to finish in single digits in scoring for the first time in the month of February. “Our staff takes total responsibility for it and I have to do a better job of getting our guys ready,” Collins said. “It’s at a point in the season when you’ve got to be able to compete at a high level.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Northwestern has had three 10-game losing streaks in seven years under Collins.

2. Illinois leads the Big Ten in rebounding margin (+8).

3. The Fighting Illini are 7-1 against unranked teams in conference play.

PREDICTION: Illinois 79, Northwestern 71