The Illinois Fighting Illini (11-20) will be taking on the Northwestern Wildcats (13-18) in the first round of this year’s Big 10 Tournament Wednesday at 8 p.m. Both of these teams were certainly the bottom-feeders in the conference this season. Northwestern finished in last with a 4-16 record against the rest of the Big Ten, while Illinois finished third to last with a 7-13 conference record.
The Wildcats took care of the Fighting Illini back on January 6, in a tight one 68-66. Illinois went into halftime leading 31-25 but was outscored 43-35 in the second half of that game. A.J. Turner hit a 3-pointer with 10.1 seconds left to give Northwestern their first Big Ten win of the season.
The junior forward missed a wild 3-point attempt with just under 20 seconds left, but Dererk Pardon grabbed the rebound and threw it back out to Turner for the game-winning basket.
“I thought I got a clean look at the first one, and it was just a little short,” he said. “My coaches and my teammates have been telling me just to be aggressive, so I just let it fly.”
Vic Law had 13 points, and 10 rebounds, Turner and Ryan Taylor had 12 points apiece, and Anthony Gaines added 11 for Northwestern.
Get more details: Illinois at Northwestern NCAAB Tournament Match-up
