The Illinois basketball program is in the part of the schedule where we should feast on the bad teams.
Brad Underwood has the Illini rolling right now, and the roster seems to be gelling well. There have been plenty of tough games thus far, and having these low-level Big Ten teams on the schedule will only help bolster the confidence.
Illinois still needs to be prepared, though. As I have mentioned numerous times, going on the road in the Big Ten is never easy, regardless of talent level.
Here is the Illinois basketball vs Northwestern how to watch, series history, and players to watch
- Illinois basketball vs Northwestern – How to watch
The rivalry matchup between Illinois and Northwestern will take place on Wednesday, January 14, at 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET. You can view this heated game on the Big Ten Network. It will also be on FuboTV, and you can get that by clicking on this link.
- Illinois basketball vs Northwestern – Series history
This is one of the longstanding rivalries in college basketball. Illinois has been pretty dominant against the team that claims to be Chicago’s Big Ten team, as we are 144-46 all-time against the Wildcats.
Illinois also won the most recent matchup, 83-74, last season. We are also 11-3 in the last 14 games in this series. The first of the 190 games against each other took place in March 1908. Illinois went to Evanston and beat the Wildcats by a score of 18-13. I think we all remember that game…
- Illinois basketball vs Northwestern – Players to watch
This is a classic Northwestern team. They are a .500 squad, but the Wildcats have a good player who could get hot and knock off a random good team every once in a while.
Illinois only really has to prepare for Nick Martinelli. He seems like he has been around forever, but Martinelli is having his best season yet. He is averaging 24.1 points per game and hitting his shots from three-point range at a clip of 52.6%.
Thankfully, Martinelli has little to no help. It is going to be tough for the Wildcats to stop the firepower of the Illini, too.
Illinois has great size, and I think our guard play is what will kill Northwestern. Keaton Wagler in the backcourt at 6-foot-6 is something the Wildcats will have a tough time with. I think Kylan Boswell could be a menace for them as well.
At the end of the day, that is what I am going to keep an eye on. Illinois’ backcourt has the size and athletic advantage. I think they are about to take it to Northwestern, and I would be surprised if this is a close game at halftime, let alone in regulation.