The Illinois–Northwestern men's basketball rivalry is an intra-Big Ten Conference, college sports rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Northwestern Wildcats. Multiple factors have played into the creation of the games between the two schools; Illinois and Northwestern are both located within the state of Illinois and are located about apart, and they share recruiting ground.
History
Illinois and Northwestern first met on March 7, 1908, with an Illinois victory, 18–13. The teams would continue to compete annually with the exception of 12 seasons. Since the two teams are both in the Big Ten Conference, they meet at least once per season. The location of the game alternates between State Farm Center, formerly Assembly Hall, in Champaign, and in Evanston at Welsh–Ryan Arena. There have only been a total of five neutral site games in this series with Illinois winning all of those games. Illinois leads the series 146–46.News-Gazette.comBTPowerhouse.com
Occasional feuds and incidents between the schools' programs have fueled the competition over the years. Illinois has the advantage in the history of the Big Ten tournament. Of the 20+ years the conference tournament has been held, Illinois and Northwestern have played a total of 3 times. Illinois holds the record of 3–0 over Northwestern.2019-20 Big Ten Media Guide
Accomplishments by the two rivals The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs. Team Illinois Northwestern National titles 00 Final Four appearances 60 NCAA Tournament appearances 363 NCAA Tournament record 49–363–3 Big Ten tournament titles 40 Big Ten regular season titles 182 Consensus First Team All-Americans 164 Naismith Players of the Year 00 Big Ten Players of the Year 30 Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipients 1917 All-time program record 1876–10541142–1585–1 All-time winning percentage
Through March 18, 2023
Game results Winning team is shown. Ranking of the team at the time of the game by the AP poll is shown by the team name.FightingIllini.comNUSports.com
*Denotes game played during the Big Ten tournament
Series statistics Series record: Illinois leads 146 to 46 Current streak: Illinois, 3 win Illinois when ranked: 57–8 Northwestern when ranked: 0–2 When both teams are ranked: 0–0 Illinois home record: 75–15 Northwestern home record: 27–58 Neutral site: Illinois leads 13–4 In overtime games: tied 4–4 Longest Illinois win streak: 16, twice (Last, 2/4/1984 – 3/2/1991) Longest Northwestern win streak: 3, twice (Last, 2/7/1966 – 1/10/1967) Longest Illinois home win streak: 19, (1/5/1980 – 2/18/1998) Longest Northwestern home win streak: 3, (Last, 1/4/2023 – 12/6/2024) Longest Illinois road win streak: 8, (2/4/1984 – 3/2/1989) Longest Northwestern road win streak: 3, (1/18/1936 – 2/12/1940) Largest Illinois home win margin: 42, (99–57), 3/8/1995 Largest Illinois road win margin: 42, (86–44), 2/27/1943 Largest Northwestern home win margin: 16, (88–72), 3/8/1958 Largest Northwestern road win margin: 15, (29–14), 3/2/1917Sports-Reference.com
References