EVANSTON - Now a little panic begins to creep in.
Despite coming in with the better record and legitimate NCAA Tournament hopes, the Northwestern Wildcats (18-6, 7-4 B1G) were outplayed by the Illinois Fighting Illini (14-11, 3-9) Tuesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena and lost 68-61.
Bryant McIntosh led all scorers with 21 points, but he shot 8-of-20 from the field while Malcolm Hill led the way for Illinois with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Te’Jon Lucas provided Hill with crucial support, pouring in 11 points to go along with 6 assists. He also hit a massive layup to give Illinois the lead towards the end of the second half.