Illinois takes on Northwestern after Bostic’s 20-point performance

Illinois Fighting Illini (13-5, 3-4 Big Ten) at Northwestern Wildcats (7-10, 0-6 Big Ten)

Evanston, Illinois; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Illinois plays Northwestern after Kendall Bostic scored 20 points in Illinois’ 86-68 loss to the Michigan State Spartans.

The Wildcats are 5-7 on their home court. Northwestern is 4-10 against opponents with a winning record.

The Fighting Illini have gone 3-4 against Big Ten opponents. Illinois is seventh in the Big Ten allowing 60.6 points while holding opponents to 40.5% shooting.

Northwestern scores 67.3 points, 6.7 more per game than the 60.6 Illinois gives up. Illinois has shot at a 43.6% clip from the field this season, 3.5 percentage points higher than the 40.1% shooting opponents of Northwestern have averaged.

The Wildcats and Fighting Illini square off Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Caileigh Walsh is averaging 11.7 points for the Wildcats. Melannie Daley is averaging 12.5 points over the last 10 games.

Bostic is shooting 53.9% and averaging 16.2 points for the Fighting Illini. Genesis Bryant is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 3-7, averaging 67.4 points, 32.0 rebounds, 18.9 assists, 5.1 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.9 points per game.

Fighting Illini: 6-4, averaging 68.4 points, 32.3 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 5.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 42.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.0 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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