Feb. 22, 2005

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EVANSTON, Ill. - The season being had by the Northwestern men's basketball team's opponent Wednesday is well-documented -- Illinois is undefeated, the only NCAA Division I team to hold the distinction, and ranked No. 1 in the nation. Maybe you have heard or read about it.

"I do not think it is a huge surprise that Illinois is having the kind of season they are having," said NU head coach Bill Carmody. "The thing that has impressed me the most is that they have responded to everything that has been thrown at them this season. They have come through the tests and passed with flying colors."

Carmody's Wildcats may be turning the corner, too, although their recent success has been received with far less fanfare.

However, what is fact is that the 'Cats have won four of their last five, rebounding from a stretch where they lost six of seven. As a result, Northwestern enters the final two weeks of the Big Ten campaign with a 13-12 record, hoping to finish above .500 and be eligible for a postseason invitation (not that an invitation is a guarantee, as Carmody and his team found out the hard way when a 16-13 Wildcat team was bypassed by the NIT).

Logic says two wins in four games will require a great effort -- the first time the 'Cats faced their next four opponents, from Jan. 5-15, they went 1-3. In addition to tonight's daunting task, NU hosts a Michigan team that has been reeling Saturday, but then a Michigan State squad that is ranked in the Top 10 nationally. The regular-season finale takes place at Indiana's Assembly Hall, a building in which no Northwestern team has ever won -- on IU's Senior Day.

"We have four games left, and two of them come against the top two teams in the league," said Carmody. "We are also at home against Michigan, but they are a team that we typically struggle with, and then we go to Indiana and face a team that is a lot different than the first time we played them. So we have a challenge ahead of us."

Still, Carmody's squad enters this final stretch with guarded optimism. The 'Cats have found the ingredient that gave them success a year ago -- namely, defense. NU's last five opponents have averaged more than 21 turnovers per game (NU has averaged 13.8 steals in that stretch) while scoring just 53.6 points per contest.

"We made a concerted effort a few weeks ago to get things going defensively, we spent a lot of time on it and challenged some of the guys," said Carmody. "We are playing a little harder and scrapping more, and also being smarter with the ball."

Did You Know?
Northwestern is guaranteed a .500 record for the month of February, the second straight year that has happened and the third time in Bill Carmody's five seasons (see bottom of page 9 of these notes). No big deal -- until you realize the last time the Wildcats put together consecutive winning Februarys was 1960 (5-2) and 1961 (4-2), and they had just four such Februarys (1963, 1966, 1974, 1983) between 1961 and Carmody's arrival.

The Series with Illinois
• Today marks the 153rd meeting between the Wildcats and the Fighting Illini in men's basketball; Illinois leads the series 118-34 after winning the first meeting of the season (78-66 in Evanston on Jan. 15).

• Last year, the teams split two games (NU won 70-60 in Evanston, Illinois won 66-56 in Champaign).

• NU head coach Bill Carmody is 1-7 all-time against the Illini.

• This is the second time NU and Illinois have met where one of the teams was ranked No. 1 in the country; the first occured on Jan. 15.

NU vs. No. 1
NU has played 13 games against the AP No. 1-ranked team in the nation in its history, including its Jan. 15 game at home against Illinois (a 78-66 loss); they are listed below. The 'Cats are 0-13 in those games.
1/15/2005 -- #1 Illinois 78, at NU 66
12/3/1988 -- at #1 Duke 86, NU 62
12/20/80 -- #1 DePaul 62, NU 54 (played at Allstate Arena)
3/1/76 -- #1 Indiana 76, at NU 63
1/5/76 -- at #1 Indiana 78, NU 61
2/15/75 -- at #1 Indiana 82, NU 58
1/18/75 -- #1 Indiana 82, at NU 56
1/24/69 -- #1 UCLA 81, NU 67 (played at Chicago Stadium)
12/28/63 -- #1 Loyola 88, NU 82 (played in Philadelphia, Pa.)
2/3/62 -- at #1 Ohio State 97, NU 61
1/6/62 -- #1 Ohio State 85, at NU 62
2/13/61 -- at #1 Ohio State 89, NU 65
1/14/61 -- #1 Ohio State 79, at NU 45