| Northwestern (14-14, 5-10) at Illinois (17-11, 7-8) |
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| Date | Saturday, Feb. 28 | 6 p.m. |
| Location | State Farm Center | Champaign, Ill. |
| Watch | Big Ten Network (Eric Collins and Stephen Bardo) |
| Listen | 720 WGN and wgnradio.com (Dave Eanet and Joey Meyer) |
| Live Stats | Gametracker |
| Social Media | @NUMensBball  | Facebook  | @numensbball  |
| Game Notes | Northwestern | Illinois |
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern puts the longest current winning streak in the Big Ten on the line Saturday as it travels to Champaign to face Illinois. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
The Wildcats enter the contest having won four in a row, matching the winning streaks of Maryland and Purdue.
Northwestern earned its fourth straight win on Wednesday night when it posted a 72-65 home victory over Indiana. Tre Demps tied a career high with 23 points, connecting on 8 of 12 field goal attempts. Alex Olah contributed his sixth double-double of the season, recording 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Demps' solid play has coincided with the Wildcats' recent winning ways. Over the last five games, Demps is averaging 17.2 points per game while shooting 55.4 percent (31-56) from the field, including 46.2 percent (12-26) from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, Olah surpassed John Shurna as Northwestern all-time leader in blocked shots in the contest with the Hoosiers. Olah enters Saturday's game with 138 career blocks, besting Shurna's 136 he amassed from 2009-12. The six double-doubles by Olah this year are the most by a Wildcat since Tavaras Hardy had six in 2001-02 while his eight double-digit rebounding games are the most by an NU player since Evan Eschmeyer had 15 in 1998-99.
After being named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday, Vic Law followed the award up with 14 points and 8 rebounds in Wednesday's win over Indiana. He has made three 3-pointers in each of the last three games and ranks fifth in the Big Ten in league play with a .455 3-point field goal percentage (15-33).
Northwestern has won each of its last two contests in Champaign, most recently posting a 68-54 win on Jan. 17, 2013. Illinois won the first meeting between the teams this season, holding on for a 72-67 victory Jan. 14 in Evanston. The Wildcats are 5-4 in their last nine meetings with the Illini.
Scouting Illinois
The Fighting Illini dropped a 68-60 decision at Iowa on Wednesday. Rayvonte Rice led Illinois with 20 points off the bench while Ahmad Starks added 19 but the team was held to 33.3 percent shooting.
Rice paces the Illini with averages of 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Malcom Hill contributes 14.3 points per contest. Illinois leads the Big Ten with a .795 team free throw percentage.
John Groce has a 60-39 record in three seasons as the head coach at Illinois and a 145-95 career record overall as a head coach.
UP NEXT...
The 'Cats wrap up their home season on Tuesday when they face Michigan on Senior Night. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Fans should plan to arrive and be in their seats by 7:45 p.m. in time for pregame Senior Night ceremonies. Tickets are available at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.
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