Scores

Final

(24) Illinois 70

(15-8, 5-5 Big Ten)

Northwestern 71

(14-8, 4-7 Big Ten)

Coverage: CBS

1:00 PM ET, February 5, 2011

Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL

1 2 T
#24ILL 29 4170
NW 35 3671

Top Performers

Illinois: B. Paul 21 Pts, 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl

Northwestern: M. Thompson 22 Pts, 3 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl

Michael Thompson hits big 3s to help NU edge Illinois

Associated Press

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Michael Thompson scored 22 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and Northwestern escaped with a wild 71-70 victory over Illinois (No. 24 ESPN/USA Today) on Saturday.

Northwestern (14-8, 4-7 Big Ten) blew a 12-point lead in the second half and had to hang on after getting it back up to seven.

Demetri McCamey nailed a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left, pulling the Fighting Illini (15-8, 5-5) within 68-65. The drama was just beginning.

Thompson turned the ball over near midcourt. McCamey then hit two free throws to make it 68-67 with 10.4 seconds left.

John Shurna immediately answered with two of his own to bump Northwestern's lead back to three. McCamey then missed a free throw with 7 seconds left, and the Wildcats' Luka Mirkovic got the rebound and was fouled before making 1 of 2 to make it 71-67.

Illinois' Brandon Paul hit a 3 as time expired.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

SPONSORED HEADLINES

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Team Stat Comparison

 
ILL
NW
Points 70 71
FG Made-Attempted 25-51 (.490) 23-48 (.479)
3P Made-Attempted 8-14 (.571) 9-21 (.429)
FT Made-Attempted 12-16 (.750) 16-22 (.727)
Fouls (Tech/Flagrant) 20 (0/0) 17 (0/0)
Largest Lead 0 12

Game Leaders

 
ILL
NW
PointsB. Paul 21M. Thompson 22
ReboundsM. Davis 6L. Mirkovic 6
AssistsJ. Richmond 4J. Shurna 5
StealsM. Davis 3M. Thompson 2
BlocksM. Tisdale 4L. Mirkovic 2
Team Stats: Illinois | Northwestern

2010-11 Season

DATEGAMELINKS
Jan 6, 2011 @ILL 88, NW 63Recap
» Feb 5, 2011 @NW 71, ILL 70Recap

Next 5 Games

ILL
NW
02/10 @MINN 9:00pm
02/13 PUR 1:00pm
02/16 MICH 8:30pm
02/19 @MSU 9:00pm
02/22 @OSU 7:00pm
 02/09 @MICH 6:30pm
02/13 @PSU 3:30pm
02/17 IOWA 9:00pm
02/19 @IND 7:00pm
02/24 PSU 9:00pm
Complete Schedule: Illinois | Northwestern

Big Ten Conference Standings

TEAMCONF W-LTOTAL W-L
#1 Ohio State16-232-2
#10 Purdue14-425-7
#18 Wisconsin13-523-8
Michigan9-920-13
#24 Illinois9-919-13
Northwestern7-1118-13
Penn State9-919-14
Michigan State9-919-14
#20 Minnesota6-1217-14
Indiana3-1512-20
Iowa4-1411-20
View expanded standings »