Halftime Report
Only one more half stands between Illinois and the win they were favored to collect coming into this afternoon. After one quarter their offense has really been able to impose its will, dominating Northwestern 43-21.
Illinois already has eight blowout wins this season, but why stop there? Barring a freak comeback, they will be celebrating another huge victory in the locker room very soon.
Who’s Playing
Northwestern Wildcats @ Illinois Fighting Illini
Current Records: Northwestern 12-7, Illinois 13-6
How To Watch
What to Know
We’ve got another exciting Big Ten matchup on schedule as the Northwestern Wildcats and the Illinois Fighting Illini are set to tip at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday at State Farm Center. The Wildcats are no doubt hoping to put an end to a six-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Last Wednesday, Northwestern was able to grind out a solid victory over Indiana, taking the game 79-70.
Brooks Barnhizer and Ty Berry were among the main playmakers for Northwestern as the former went 8 for 14 en route to 21 points plus eight rebounds and six assists and the latter went 7 for 10 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points plus seven rebounds and two blocks. Barnhizer’s evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 22.4 points. Nick Martinelli was another key player, going 7 for 11 en route to 18 points plus six rebounds.
Illinois has been a dominant force so far, but they’re in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. Things couldn’t have gone much worse for them as they lost 91-70 to Maryland on Thursday. The match was up for grabs at halftime, but sadly the Fighting Illini were thoroughly outmatched 53-35 in the second half.
Despite their loss, Illinois saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who went 5 for 8 en route to 15 points, was perhaps the best of all. The team also got some help courtesy of Kasparas Jakucionis, who scored 21 points in addition to seven assists and seven rebounds.
Northwestern’s win bumped their record up to 12-7. As for Illinois, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-6.
Northwestern is hoping to beat the odds on Sunday, as the experts think they’re headed for a loss. For those looking to play the spread, take note: they are a solid 6-3 against the spread when playing as the underdog.
Northwestern didn’t have too much breathing room in their matchup against Illinois in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, but they still walked away with a 70-66 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Northwestern since the team won’t have the home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Odds
Illinois is a big 7.5-point favorite against Northwestern, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Fighting Illini as a 8.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 148 points.
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Series History
Illinois has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Northwestern.
- Dec 06, 2024 – Northwestern 70 vs. Illinois 66
- Jan 24, 2024 – Northwestern 96 vs. Illinois 91
- Jan 02, 2024 – Illinois 96 vs. Northwestern 66
- Feb 23, 2023 – Illinois 66 vs. Northwestern 62
- Jan 04, 2023 – Northwestern 73 vs. Illinois 60
- Feb 13, 2022 – Illinois 73 vs. Northwestern 66
- Jan 29, 2022 – Illinois 59 vs. Northwestern 56
- Feb 16, 2021 – Illinois 73 vs. Northwestern 66
- Jan 07, 2021 – Illinois 81 vs. Northwestern 56
- Feb 27, 2020 – Illinois 74 vs. Northwestern 66
