NCAAB: No. 13 Illinois braces for stiff challenge vs. Northwestern

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No. 13 Illinois will look to bounce back on its home court when it tips off against Northwestern on Sunday afternoon in a Big Ten Conference matchup in Champaign, Ill.

Illinois (17-6, 10-3) is coming off an 84-68 loss on the road against No. 3 Purdue on Tuesday night. That snapped a four-game winning streak for the Fighting Illini and opened the door for Wisconsin, Purdue and others to challenge them for the top spot in the conference standings.

“We’re a good basketball team,” Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said. “It was an off night. We were 10-2 (in the Big Ten) coming in, and we’re still in a really good place.”

The Fighting Illini’s next challenge will come against Northwestern (12-10, 5-8), which boasts a three-game winning streak after victories over Indiana, Nebraska and Rutgers. The Wildcats are looking for four wins in a row for the first time since opening the season 4-0 in the nonconference slate.

Northwestern head coach Chris Collins urged his team to play at a fast pace in its most recent game, particularly after he learned that Indiana would be shorthanded because of several player suspensions.

“We really made a point to try to continue, even though we weren’t scoring a lot, we wanted to push the tempo,” Collins said. “Because we knew those guys were going to have to play a lot of minutes, and hopefully fatigue did play a little bit of a factor.”

The Wildcats will have to find a way to stop Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn, who is averaging 21.6 points and 11.2 rebounds this season. The 7-footer from Jamaica finished with 22 points and nine boards in the Fighting Illini’s 59-56 win over Northwestern on Jan. 29.

Alfonso Plummer is averaging 15.2 points per game for Illinois, while Trent Frazier ranks third with 12.8 points per contest. Frazier went down against Purdue with what initially appeared to be a scary knee injury, but he avoided serious damage and returned later in the game.

Northwestern’s top scorer is Boo Buie, who is averaging 15.5 points in 31.0 minutes per game this season.

Pete Nance is next with 15.1 points and a team-high 7.0 rebounds per game, and Chase Audige is third with an average of 11.6 points per contest.

Illinois point guard Andre Curbelo hopes to stay on a positive trajectory after scoring 15 points in 21 minutes off the bench against Purdue. Curbelo missed nearly two months because of injury and has averaged 9.8 points in five games off the bench since returning.

“It’s been a trying process for him, but I’ve been really pleased with him as a teammate,” Underwood said. “He acts like another coach. It’s just a matter of him getting back and being able to perform for sustained periods of time.

“He is a winner. The kid is ultra-competitive and wants to win. You see that on the sidelines. You see that in practice — he’s that guy in every drill. That motivates him.”

–Field Level Media

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