Conference play began last week, and it brought plenty of surprises around the state. Despite losing, Northwestern clings to its No. 1 ranking just ahead of surging Illinois State. 1. Northwestern (12-3, 1-1 Big Ten) Last week: 1 After thrashing Penn State in the Big…
Last week was a rough one for Illinois. While Northwestern and Illinois kept their winning streaks going into Big Ten play, they struggled against some not-so-good teams. Meanwhile, Loyola’s winning streak ended at Toledo and Eastern Illinois’ streak ended at Indiana State. All that and…
Last week was filled with local matchups. Chicago State and UIC each played two schools from the Chicago area, and Northwestern and Illinois competed in separate games at the United Center. While the top teams stayed put, the bottom two thirds of the Illinois Rankings…
It’s a bit late to the party, but here are The Catch and Shoot’s first Illinois Rankings of the 2016-17 season, evaluating all 13 teams in the state. So far, the state has performed relatively well with four teams in the KenPom top 130. The top spot…
1. Northwestern (20-11, 8-10 Big Ten). Last week: 2 Northwestern defeated Penn State and Nebraska last week to secure a bye and the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Wildcats will face Michigan in the second round this week. 2. Illinois State…
1. Illinois State (18-13, 12-6 MVC). Last week: 2 Illinois State demolished Southern Illinois last week to take over the No. 1 ranking. 2. Northwestern (18-11, 6-10 Big Ten). Last week: 3 Northwestern dismantled Rutgers on Saturday to stay in the hunt for a…
1. Southern Illinois (21-8, 10-6 MVC). Last week: 1 Southern Illinois knocked off Bradley last week but then fell on the road to Evansville. At 10-6, the Salukis are one game out of second place in the MVC entering the final week of the regular season.…
1. Southern Illinois (20-7, 9-5 MVC). Last week: 2 Southern Illinois put its four-game losing streak in the past with wins against Indiana State and Drake. A big game awaits Saturday at Evansville, which nipped Southern Illinois in overtime when they met in Carbondale. 2. Illinois…
1. Northwestern (16-8, 4-7 Big Ten). Last week: 2 Northwestern ended its five-game losings streak with an easy win against Minnesota. Still in search of a quality win, the Wildcats head to Ohio State on Tuesday. 2. Southern Illinois (18-7, 7-5 MVC). Last week: 1…
1. Southern Illinois (18-5, 7-3 MVC). Last week: 1 A tough week for Southern Illinois resulted in losses to Evansville and Northern Iowa for its first back-to-back losses of the season. 2. Northwestern (15-8, 3-7 Big Ten). Last week: 2 Northwestern ended a four-game stretch against…
