Illinois Fighting Illini vs Northwestern Wildcats prediction and college basketball game preview.
Illinois vs Northwestern Broadcast
Date: Tuesday, February 16
Game Time: 9:00 ET
Venue: State Farm Center, Champaign, IL
Network: BTN
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Illinois (14-5) vs Northwestern (6-12) Game Preview
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Why Northwestern Will Win
The Cats have to hope that Illinois is deep into the dog days of the finishing kick and stays a bit off.
Illinois got pushed way too hard by Nebraska.
The Huskers have been struggling all year, but they were able to stay alive in the loss on Friday by doing a great job on the boards and by getting to the free throw line.
Northwestern has to somehow get to the line more. It doesn’t do a ton on the glass and it doesn’t draw nearly enough fouls, but it’s okay on the line and it comes up with enough threes to put the pressure on.
Illinois isn’t all that great at defending the three, but …
Why Illinois Will Win
There wasn’t a problem in the 81-56 win over the Wildcats back in early January.
The Illini were great from the field, Northwestern couldn’t hit anything, and it got really, really ugly on the boards.
Northwestern doesn’t rebound, it doesn’t force mistakes, and even though it can hit from the outside, it doesn’t do enough on the inside.
What’s Going To Happen
Illinois will overcome a sluggish first half by rebounding everything in the second, coming up with plenty of easy points, and by hitting enough on the inside to keep pulling ahead as the game goes on.
Illinois vs Northwestern Prediction, Line
Illinois 78, Northwestern 65
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Illinois -14, o/u: 145.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Must See Rating: 2
5: 2 degrees in this stupid polar vortex after a few days of …
1: -6 degrees and – somehow – snow
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