Coming off of a difficult loss at No. 5 Indiana, Northwestern remained on the road, this time traveling down to Urbana-Champaign to take on Illinois. The Illini came into the game with a worst in the Big Ten record of 6-16. Despite that, however, the Wildcats took them seriously, not allowing U of I to take an early lead and eventually pulling away in the second half. Here are three takeaways from Northwestern’s 23-point victory over its in-state rival:

Courtney Shaw remains a crucial piece for the ‘Cats

If there was any doubt surrounding Courtney Shaw’s role in Northwestern’s offense prior to Sunday’s win over Illinois, those questions were answered very promptly.