The Wildcats jumped out to a 13-4 lead but shortly after that Bailey scored 10 straight Rutgers points and when Jamichael Davis drilled a 3 the Scarlet Knights were up 20-18.

Big Ten opponents square off when the Northwestern Wildcats (12-8, 3-6 Big Ten) host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-10, 3-6 Big Ten) at Welsh-Ryan Arena, starting at 9:00 PM ET on Wednesday,

Wednesday’s Big Ten schedule includes the Northwestern Wildcats (12-8, 3-6 Big Ten) versus the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-10, 3-6 Big Ten) at 9:00 PM ET on BTN.Buy tickets for Northwestern

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

Iowa City, Iowa; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Iowa hosts Northwestern after Lucy Olsen scored 20 points in Iowa's 85-61 victory over the Washington Huskies. The Hawkeyes are 6-3 in home games. Iowa ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 35.

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.

Rutgers visits the Northwestern Wildcats after Jordan Derkack scored 26 points in the Scarlet Knights' 81-74 loss to the Michigan State Spartans.

Despite (or maybe because of) their unpredictability, the Illini went back to some old standbys to best the Wildcats on Sunday

After Maryland simply outsized Illinois in a 91-70 thrashing that can be explained in a single state – the Terrapins' 62 points in the paint – the Illini bounced back to dominate Northwestern on the glass (plus-23 margin) and outscore the Wildcats in the paint.

The Nittany Lions are the Hotline’s early favorite to win the Big Ten after stealing DC Jim Knowles from Ohio State.