Illinois–Northwestern men's basketball rivalry
SportCollege basketball
First meetingMarch 7, 1908
Illinois 18 – Northwestern 13
Latest meetingJanuary 2, 2024
Illinois 96 – Northwestern 66
StadiumsState Farm Center,
Welsh–Ryan Arena
Statistics
Meetings total187
All-time seriesIllinois leads, 143–44
Largest victoryIllinois, 42, twice
(86-44), 1943 at NU
(99-57), 1995 at IL
Longest win streakIllinois, 16 twice
(1947-1955 & 1984-1991)
Current win streakIllinois, 2 (2023–present)
Locations of Illinois and Northwestern

The Illinois–Northwestern men's basketball rivalry is an intra-Big Ten Conference, college sports rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Northwestern Wildcats. Multiple factors have played into the creation of the games between the two schools; Illinois and Northwestern are both located within the state of Illinois and are located about 157 miles (253 km) apart, and they share recruiting ground.

History

Illinois and Northwestern first met on March 7, 1908, with an Illinois victory, 18–13. The teams would continue to compete annually with the exception of 12 seasons. Since the two teams are both in the Big Ten Conference, they meet at least once per season. The location of the game alternates between State Farm Center, formerly Assembly Hall, in Champaign, and in Evanston at Welsh–Ryan Arena. There have only been a total of five neutral site games in this series with Illinois winning all of those games. Illinois leads the series 137–43.[1][2]

Occasional feuds and incidents between the schools' programs have fueled the competition over the years. Illinois has the advantage in the history of the Big Ten tournament. Of the 20+ years the conference tournament has been held, Illinois and Northwestern have played a total of 3 times. Illinois holds the record of 3–0 over Northwestern.[3]

Accomplishments by the two rivals

The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.

TeamIllinoisNorthwestern
National titles[4][5]00
Final Four appearances[6][7]50
NCAA Tournament appearances[6][7]332
NCAA Tournament record[6][7]42-342-2
Big Ten tournament titles[8]30
Big Ten regular season titles[9]182
Consensus First Team All-Americans[10]164
Naismith Players of the Year[11]00
Big Ten Players of the Year[12]30
Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipients[13]1917
All-time program record[6][7]1876-10541142-1585-1
All-time winning percentage[6][7].640.419

Game results

Winning team is shown. Ranking of the team at the time of the game by the AP poll is shown by the team name.[16][17]

Illinois victoriesNorthwestern victoriesTie games

Series statistics

  • Series Record: Illinois leads 143 to 44
  • Current Streak: Illinois, 2 wins
  • Illinois when ranked: 54-5
  • Northwestern when ranked: 0-2
  • When both teams are ranked: 0-0
  • Illinois Home Record: 73-15
  • Northwestern Home Record: 25-57
  • Neutral site: Illinois leads 13-4
  • In overtime games: Illinois leads 4-2
  • Longest Illinois W-Streak: 16, twice (last, 2/4/1984-3/2/1991)
  • Longest Northwestern W-Streak: 3, (3/8/1958-3/7/1959)
  • Longest Illinois Home W-Streak: 19, (1/5/1980-2/18/1998)
  • Longest Northwestern Home W-Streak: 2, four times (Last, 1/23/2010-2/15/2011)
  • Longest Illinois Road W-Streak: 8, (2/4/1984-3/2/1989)
  • Longest Northwestern Road W-Streak: 3, (1/18/1936-2/12/1940)
  • Largest Illinois Home Win Margin: 42, (99-57), 3/8/1995
  • Largest Illinois Road Win Margin: 42, (86-44), 2/27/1943
  • Largest Northwestern Home Win Margin: 16, (88-72), 3/8/1958
  • Largest Northwestern Road Win Margin: 15, (29-14), 3/2/1917[18]

References

  1. News-Gazette.com
  2. BTPowerhouse.com
  3. 2019-20 Big Ten Media Guide
  4. "Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball School History". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  5. "Northwestern Wildcats Men's Basketball School History". Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Illinois Fighting Illini Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Northwestern Wildcats Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  8. "Big Ten tournament All-Time Results" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  9. "Big Ten Conference Sports References". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  10. "NCAA College Basketball AP All-America Teams". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  11. "Naismith Award Records". NaismithTrophy.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  12. "Big Ten Player of the Year" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  13. "Big Ten Medal of Honor" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  14. "Illinois Fighting Illini Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  15. "Northwestern Wildcats Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  16. FightingIllini.com
  17. NUSports.com
  18. Sports-Reference.com
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