Northwestern
Illinois
Wildcats Open B1G Play at Rivals Illinois on Saturday
12/27/2019 12:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
| NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: GAMEDAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | Opponent | TIME | LOCATION | Live Stats | Live Stream |
| Saturday, Dec. 28 | Illinois | 2 p.m. CT | State Farm Center Champaign, Ill. |
Live Stats | BTN+ |
| Game Notes: NU Social: Twitter (@NUWBBall) | Instagram (@NUWBBall) | Schedule | |||||
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern opens up Big Ten play on Saturday when it hits the road to face in-state rivals Illinois at the State Farm Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. CT.
The Wildcats are 10-1 after non-conference play on the heels of two wins at the West Palm Invitational last week against East Carolina and Xavier. Head coach Joe McKeown earned his 700th career win against East Carolina and became the 13th active head coach and fourth active coach in the Big Ten to do so.
Northwestern is one of four teams at 10-1 in the Big Ten, along with Minnesota, Nebraska and Rutgers. The Wildcats received seven votes in the latest AP Poll and 16 in the Coaches Poll. NU ranks seventh out of Big Ten Teams in the AP Poll and fifth in the Coaches Poll.
Northwestern is 18th in the latest RPI reports, ranking third out of all Big Ten teams behind Indiana and Iowa. The team's strength of schedule ranks 45th.
Junior guard Lindsey Pulliam ranks third in the Big Ten for points per game at 17.9, while sophomore guard Veronica Burton ranks first in steals (3.4) and third in assists (5.8). Senior forward Abi Scheid ranks fifth in the Big Ten in three-point shooting percentage with a mark of 45%, a career-best.
The 'Cats have won their last eight matchups against Illinois dating back to 2014. Byrdy Galernik and Abbie Wolf lead the active Wildcats with appearances in wins against the Illini with five.
Illinios enters the conference opener at 9-2, its best mark to start a season since the 2006-07 season.
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