Northwestern's 70-63 upset of then-No. 7 Michigan State last year at the Breslin Center was the Wildcats' first road win against the Spartans since 1984. The Cats will try for back-to-back wins here for the first time since 1961 and 1962 when they face the Spartans tonight.
Northwestern stormed back from an eight-point deficit in the second half and knocked off Illinois 73-68 on Saturday night before a sellout crowd of 8,117 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. It was the Wildcats' first win against their in-state Big Ten rival since Jan. 14, 2004, in Illinois coach Bruce Weber's first game in the series.
Derrick Rose made the big shot Friday night, and the Bulls guard hopes it can inject a shot of confidence in the team at the start of a seven-game road trip Monday afternoon at Golden State. The Bulls will not return home until Feb. 2, when they host the Los Angeles Clippers. In the meantime, ''Disney on Ice'' will take over the United Center.
Northwestern couldn't make free throws, and the Wildcats also couldn't contain Wisconsin guard Trevon Hughes down the stretch after the Badgers' leading scorer missed his first seven shots.








