Story bythumpasaurusTue, January 13, 2026 at 5:50 PM UTC·3 min readThe #13 Illinois Fighting Illini travel to unranked Northwestern for the next chapter in a pretty major non-rivalry. The Illini are 144-46 against the ‘Cats all time and are all but certain to end this season ahead of Northwestern in the league standings. A peculiar pattern has emerged specific to the Illini game at Northwestern in recent years, however…AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement2024-5Last year, the #19 Fighting Illini took a 6-1 record into Welsh-Ryan Arena. Despite being the favorite, they lost a frustrating overtime game in which they scored much worse than their season average.