Northwestern Wildcats face the No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini on 3-game slide

Illinois Fighting Illini (14-5, 7-2 Big Ten) at Northwestern Wildcats (9-9, 2-7 Big Ten)

Evanston, Illinois; Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Northwestern comes into the matchup against No. 24 Illinois after losing three straight games.

The Wildcats have gone 6-4 at home. Northwestern is fourth in the Big Ten scoring 76.2 points while shooting 44.3% from the field.

The Fighting Illini are 7-2 against conference opponents. Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten shooting 37.2% from 3-point range.

The Wildcats and Fighting Illini meet Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Boo Buie is shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc with 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Wildcats, while averaging 14.9 points and 5.3 assists. Pete Nance is averaging 9.2 points over the last 10 games for Northwestern.

Alfonso Plummer is shooting 41.4% from beyond the arc with 3.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Fighting Illini, while averaging 16.2 points. Trent Frazier is shooting 47.1% and averaging 10.3 points over the last 10 games for Illinois.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 3-7, averaging 71.8 points, 32.5 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 5.6 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 41.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.5 points per game.

Fighting Illini: 7-3, averaging 78.3 points, 35.5 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 4.5 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 46.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.7 points.

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