The Illini (2-4) travel to Evanston to battle Northwestern this Saturday (11 a.m. CT, ESPN 2).
The Wildcats come into this game with a 5-1 record having already clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game as the Big Ten West champion. Meanwhile, the Illini come into this one with a 2-4 record in a type of purgatory season that makes it hard to argue that Lovie should be dismissed off-hand, and yet, the type of season that inspires little confidence in Lovie’s ability to get the Illini out of the bottom of the pack in the Big Ten.