Northwestern @ Illinois preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 6, 2019 ) Illinois 66, Northwestern 68

Northwestern is mired in a nine-game losing streak and Illinois has dropped three in a row heading into Sunday's Big Ten matchup between teams floundering in the bottom reaches of the Big Ten. Northwestern hasn't won a game since Jan. 22, but one of its three conference wins came against Illinois in early January.

In the first meeting between the in-state opponents, A.J. Turner nailed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to lift Northwestern past Illinois. But the Wildcats have won only twice since and are coming off a 62-50 loss at home on Thursday to Minnesota in a game that saw Dererk Pardon produce his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Illinois' recent struggles aren't quite as pronounced as Northwestern's, but the Fighting Illini haven't won since Feb. 14 when they upset Ohio State in Columbus. In Wednesday's 73-56 loss at No. 12 Purdue, Illinois tied the score at 48 in the second half before the Boilermakers pulled away from the smaller and less experienced Illini.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (12-16, 3-14 Big Ten): Pardon is shooting 58.1 percent this season and on track to finish as the school career leader in field goal percentage. The senior is Northwestern's second leading scorer (13.8 points per game) behind Vic Law (15.5 points) and leads the team in rebounding (7.8 per game). The Wildcats struggle with their shooting (40.3 percent from the floor), but they're holding opponents to 29.6 percent from 3-point range.

ABOUT ILLINOIS (10-18, 6-11): The Fighting Illini's shooting was their undoing in Wednesday's loss, finishing at 32.8 percent from the field and 27.6 percent from 3-point range. Freshman Ayo Dosunmu is tied for the team scoring lead with Trent Frazier at 14.1 points per game. Illinois' third leading scorer, 6-foot-9 freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili at 11.9 points per game, was held to two by Purdue, but he won't have to contend with an inside presence such as 7-3 Matt Haarms against Northwestern.

TIP-INS

1. Dosunmu has led Illinois in scoring in 11 of the last 16 games while averaging 16.1 points, and finished in double figure in six straight games before being held to a team-leading nine points Wednesday at Purdue.

2. Illinois is on track to be left out of the NCAA Tournament field for the sixth consecutive year unless it pulls off a miracle and wins the Big Ten Tournament later this month.

3. Northwestern held Illinois without a 3-pointer in 11 attempts during the first meeting in January.

PREDICTION: Illinois 67, Northwestern 62