Scouting: Northwestern @ Illinois

Posted December 29, 2009 10:00 pm

By Lindsey Willhite

Northwestern (10-1, 0-0) at Illinois (8-4, 0-0)

When: 8 p.m. at Assembly Hall

TV: BTN; Radio: WIND 560-AM, WGN 720-AM

Skinny: For the first time since Jan. 18, 1969 (also known as six months before man walked on the moon), Northwestern walks on the court as a nationally ranked team. The oddsmakers aren't impressed and have installed the Illini as a solid favorite, but Illinois rarely has shown the cohesiveness (both offensively and defensively) that NU brings on a nightly basis. This game should turn on the amount of pressure Illinois can put on NU point guard Juice Thompson. The Illini ratcheted up the pressure late in last year's game in order to rally from 14 points down and win on Demetri McCamey's runner with 2.9 seconds left. Illinois' rotation is one person shorter with junior guard Alex Legion's departure on Tuesday, but it shouldn't affect the team's rotation.

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