Men’s Basketball

When Northwestern travels to Illinois on Saturday, the Wildcats will be facing a Fighting Illini team trying to make a case for a NCAA Tournament bid. Particularly on the road, that is not an easy assignment.

“They’re really good with their energy at home,” coach Chris Collins told media Friday about the Fighting Illini. “And I know they’re really gonna be ready to play. This time of year, when you’re playing teams, everybody feels an even more sense of urgency of things to play for.”

NU (14-14, 5-10 Big Ten) is not in contention for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but the Cats have put themselves in the conversation for a smaller postseason tournament thanks to a four-game winning streak.

“I think our guys are just having fun playing,” Collins said. “When you’re winning and playing well, you’re excited about getting back out there. Our guys are confident. … We feel good about how we’ve been playing the last couple of weeks.”

Illinois (17-11, 7-8) enters Saturday on a three-game losing streak, but the defeats have come to first-place Wisconsin and likely NCAA Tournament teams Michigan State and Iowa.

Leading scorer Rayvonte Rice is back in the lineup after missing nine games with an injury. But he is averaging 12.3 points since returning, compared to his season average of 17.2 points before the injury, and shooting 31.8 percent from the field.

Rice missed the first meeting at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Jan. 14, a 72-67 win for the Fighting Illini.

“Adding Rice back gives them another scorer, another proven really good player at this level,” Collins said.

Guard Kendrick Nunn, who dropped 25 points on NU in January, has also struggled during Illinois’ losing streak, averaging 7 points on 21.9 percent shooting.

The story in the backcourt has been different for NU.

Junior guard Tre Demps is doing away with his label as an inefficient chucker, and freshman guard Bryant McIntosh continues to display his skill as a scorer and distributor.

In the last five games, Demps has had four nights with an offensive rating above 120. He’d had only one such performance in the first 10 Big Ten games.

McIntosh led the Cats in scoring during the first two wins of the hot streak, and in the last two he has filled up the assists column with 17 dimes and only 5 turnovers.

“It’s kind of how I played in high school,” McIntosh said to media on serving as a dual offensive threat. “My high school team was really gifted scoring, so there would be nights where I’d only take two shots. It’s just taking what (opponents) give you and kind of understanding what kind of night it is for you.”

Recently, the Cats as a team have had good kinds of nights. With another one Saturday, they will have their first five-game conference winning streak since 1966.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Jesse_Kramer