Halftime Report

Only one more half stands between Northwestern and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They have jumped out to a quick 37-27 lead against Eastern Illinois.

Northwestern has yet to string together two consecutive wins, but this may be their chance. For now, things are looking good for them.

Who's Playing

Eastern Illinois Panthers @ Northwestern Wildcats

Current Records: Eastern Illinois 1-2, Northwestern 2-1

How To Watch

What to Know

If the oddsmakers' predictions hold true, the near future looks bright for Northwestern. They will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at 8:00 p.m. ET at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats will be strutting in after a win while the Panthers will be stumbling in from a defeat.

Northwestern took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They walked away with an 83-74 victory over UIC.

Nick Martinelli was the offensive standout of the contest as he went 10 for 14 en route to 27 points. The matchup was his third in a row with at least 22.4 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jalen Leach, who went 5 for 8 en route to 16 points plus two steals.

Meanwhile, Eastern Illinois managed to keep up with Indiana until halftime on Sunday, but things quickly went downhill from there. Eastern Illinois was dealt a punishing 90-55 loss at the hands of Indiana. Having soared to a lofty 97 points in the game before, the Panthers' point total in this one was quite the letdown.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Eastern Illinois struggled to work together and finished the game with only eight assists. They were dismantled by their opponents in that department as Indiana racked up 26.

Northwestern now has a winning record of 2-1. As for Eastern Illinois, their defeat was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-2.

Everything went Northwestern's way against Eastern Illinois when the teams last played back in November of 2021, as Northwestern made off with an 80-56 win. Will Northwestern repeat their success, or does Eastern Illinois have a better game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.

The line has drifted a bit towards the Wildcats, as the game opened with the Wildcats as a 23-point favorite.


The over/under is 140.5 points.

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Series History

Northwestern won the only game these two teams have played in the last 3 years.

  • Nov 09, 2021 - Northwestern 80 vs. Eastern Illinois 56