Northwestern beginning to put it together in victory over Illinois
Share this story
Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana Back at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the first time in one year, Northwestern found itself playing a familiar foe. Two weeks ago, the sluggish ‘Cats squeaked by Illinois in a 67-61 win that didn’t bolster much confidence heading into the postseason. The ‘Cats fell behind 18-4 early in Champaign before recovering but struggling to fully quash the Illini.
Wednesday’s second round Big Ten Tournament matchup was a different story. Both teams struggled to score early in the first quarter, but Northwestern asserted its defense and used one of its most impressive quarters in recent memory to blow past Illinois 67-42, the program’s largest margin of victory in a Big Ten Tournament game by 15 points.
In a week s time, Central Indiana will be home to an unprecedented slate of NCAA basketball, offering Hoosiers a staggering number of college hoops games to watch and theoretically attend.
But if you re a pandemic-era sports fan mulling over buying tickets for you and your crew, you ve got an important choice to make.
Do you secure a lower-priced ticket now by grabbing a pair of seats to a mystery matchup? Or do you wait until after Selection Sunday when prices could be higher and the limited quantities even more limited?
For many, however, there is no question, because the answer in Indiana is always basketball.
March Madness 2021: Selection Sunday, schedule, how to watch cnet.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnet.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Women’s Basketball In the regular season, Northwestern defeated Illinois twice: 73-54 in Evanston on Jan. 21 and 67-61 in Champaign on Feb. 24. Today in Indianapolis, the Wildcats added another victory over their in-state rival. Behind 21 points from senior guard Lindsey Pulliam, 15 points from junior guard Veronica Burton and a strong defensive effort.