Chicago — A hush fell over the United Center on Saturday as Winston Blake leaned down and placed his hand over his face.

Bloody nose? Concussion? Gouged eye?

Nope. The Northwestern forward had lost a contact lens.

Blake struggled to regain his vision in front of 15,429 people. After holding up the game for a solid three minutes, the lens remained AWOL.

It was one of many battles that occurred in the game. Here’s a rundown of all the major bouts:

 The main event took place between two Big Ten squads — one coming off a 30-point victory and confidently strutting in with a 17-5 record; the other needing a win to save itself from another sub-.500 regular season.

Illinois won, as most teams do when they shoot 74 percent from the field in a half. In the opening minutes, the Illini killed the Wildcats softly, draining open outside shots at will.

But in the end, it wasn’t the shellacking that many pundits had predicted. With just over six minutes remaining, NU was down four and had the ball. If the Cats had kept their sneakers off the baseline, it may have been a different story.

Still, by keeping the game tight throughout the second half and proving itself to a national audience, NU attained a moral victory.

“I liked our effort,” NU coach Bill Carmody said. “I thought we played pretty hard.”

 NU gave its small cheering section a reason to stand down the stretch. Still, and no surprises here, the Orange Krush dominated at the United Center. Nothing in the stands would indicate that the Cats were just 15 miles from Evanston, as Illini fans took over the neutral arena.

“They have really good fans,” NU guard T.J. Parker said. “It’s Chicago. People like Illinois.”

 Parker, NU’s freshman phenom, provided the best head-to-head dual against Illinois’ freshman point guard Dee Brown.

The two traded blows throughout the game. Parker drained two treys early to keep the Cats close. Brown picked off a pass and took it in for an easy layup. Parker slashed past Brown and drew a foul. Brown blew past Parker on the baseline for a short jumper.

Brown won the statistical battle, scoring 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting and added five assists. Parker, who was the Cats’ catalyst on Saturday, scored 13 points, had four assists and drew multiple, “that’s Tony’s brother, you know,” comments from the crowd.

Brown’s team provided him with more help down the stretch, and Parker played out of control at times (but his intensity was admirable). The guards had high praise for each other.

Parker on Brown: “He’s hard to guard — he’s a real good player.”

Brown on Parker: “He’s great — he’s another me out there. I like competing against him.”

 Illinois claimed almost every on-court battle, but there was one contest that NU won hands down. During a television timeout, the two schools held the “liberty contest,” in which the male cheerleaders fought to see who could hold female cheerleaders longest in the air.

As the last cheerleader dropped for the Illini, the Cats squad had three remaining.

At least NU came away with one victory.

Elia Powers is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected].