A more aggressive approach appears to be paying off for Illinois' Demetri McCamey.
Earning co-Big Ten player of the week honors after two solid performances to open league play is evidence of that.
McCamey will try to help the 20th-ranked Illini win their ninth straight at home against Northwestern on Thursday night.
Illinois (12-3, 2-0) opened conference play with consecutive wins thanks to big efforts from McCamey. After collecting 20 points and 10 assists in an 87-77 win over Iowa last Wednesday, he had 21 and seven in Sunday's 69-61 victory over Wisconsin.
McCamey scored 14 of those points in the final seven minutes and accounted for all the scoring during a 9-3 run that gave the Illini an 11-point lead after the Badgers had pulled within five with 6:34 left.
"It's not I'm going to take it over at this point in time or that point in time," McCamey said. "It's just being aggressive. If I get my teammates shots, it's going to open up for me (later in the game)."
McCamey got to the free-throw line a season-high 15 times, making 11. His previous best at the line this season was eight attempts.
"He came back from Christmas and he announced to the team that he has to get to the basket more because somebody at Christmas dinner told him that," coach Bruce Weber said. "Well, I've been telling him that for three-and-a-half years, (the media) has been telling him, the fans have been telling him - somebody at Christmas dinner finally got to him."
The senior is trying to be more consistent in Big Ten play after often disappearing in games last season. He scored 15.2 points per game against conference opponents in 2009-10, averaging 11 in two contests against Northwestern.
The Illini and Wildcats split two games last season, with each winning at home. Illinois hasn't lost in Champaign to Northwestern since 1999.
This trip to Assembly Hall continues a difficult Big Ten opening slate for the Wildcats (9-3, 0-2), who have already visited No. 11 Purdue and hosted No. 18 Michigan State. They fell short against the Spartans on Monday, losing 65-62.
Northwestern cut a 13-point Spartans lead to one after a 12-0 run, but Draymond Green grabbed an offensive board and scored with 12 seconds remaining and the Wildcats missed two shots in the closing seconds.
Northwestern shot a season-worst 31.6 percent as leading scorer John Shurna went 1 of 11 from the field while missing 4 of 5 3-pointers. Shurna, one of the nation's most accurate 3-point shooters, finished with 11 points after coming in averaging 22.2 and shooting 61.8 percent beyond the arc. He's been bothered by a sore ankle.
"He didn't seem to have the little pop," coach Bill Carmody said. "Those are shots he's been making all year. He'll get better. He's a tough kid."
Shurna averaged 23 points in two games against Illinois last season, going 6 of 14 beyond the arc.
Northwestern's 73-68 victory last January snapped an 11-game overall losing streak against the Illini.
