Preview: Northwestern at Illinois

[February 21, 2017]  Northwestern can set a program record for the most wins in a single season when it travels to Champaign to tangle with Illinois on Tuesday. The Wildcats have won two of their last three games, including a 69-65 triumph against Rutgers on Saturday, to stay on track to earn their first NCAA Tournament berth, and look to notch their 21st victory of the campaign by avenging a disappointing 68-61 setback to the Fighting Illini on Feb. 7.

"We're more mature and we just believe we should win," Northwestern guard Bryant McIntosh told reporters. "That goes a long way when you have that confidence." Illinois squeaked out a 70-66 win against Iowa on Saturday to notch two straight Big Ten road victories for the first time in over a year. The Fighting Illini have won two of their last three games but are still likely to miss the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year even if they manage to sweep the season series with Northwestern for the second time since 2014-15. "No matter what anyone says we're still fighting," Illinois head coach John Groce told reporters. "They have showed the kind of fight I expect from someone who puts on that jersey."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, BTN

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (20-7, 9-5 Big Ten): McIntosh led the way with 18 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with just under a minute remaining, and dished out six assists in the win against Rutgers to move within 14 assists of passing Michael Thompson (528) for the most in program history. Dererk Pardon added 12 points and eight rebounds while Gavin Skelly finished with nine points against the Scarlet Knights. Scottie Lindsey, who leads the team in scoring (15.0), tallied six points and dished out four assists after missing the previous four games with a bout of mono.

ABOUT ILLINOIS (15-12, 5-9): Senior guard Malcolm Hill registered 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the win against Iowa to become the seventh player in school history to reach 1,700 points for his career. Jalen Coleman-Lands provided a spark off the bench as he scored 12 points, pulled down six rebounds and added three steals to help the Fighting Illini win back-to-back road games after losing their previous five by an average margin of 17.4 points. Te'Jon Lucas and Michael Finke also tallied 12 points each as Illinois overcame 17 turnovers and a 7-of-14 performance from the free-throw line.

TIP-INS

1. Illinois has won 11 of the last 13 home meetings with Northwestern.

2. Hill needs 19 points to move into sixth place on the Fighting Illini's all-time scoring list.

3. McIntosh leads the Big Ten in assists per game (5.6).

PREDICTION: Northwestern 67, Illinois 66

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