The bloom is off the rose for these Illini (14-6, 6-4 Big Ten), who went from being underrated by the college basketball illuminati early this season to now arguably underperforming as the expectations around them have risen. The climb up the mountain, as always, gets harder with every subsequent step toward the top.

Northwestern did heat up offensively late in the second half, but dug itself too deep a hole with its poor first-half shooting. Illinois was able to maintain roughly a 20-point le