In pursuit of their third road victory of the year, the Illinois men’s basketball won’t have to travel far.

Illinois will make the short trip to Evanston, Illinois (11-13, 3-8 Big Ten), for Saturday night’s conference bout with in-state rival Northwestern (16-9, 4-8).

Both teams are coming off extended stretches of rest — Illinois last played Sunday and Northwestern’s last game ended in a loss at the hands of Ohio State on Tuesday. Each team has also been trudging through rough patches in their respective schedules — Illinois has dropped five of its last eight, while Northwestern has one win in its last seven contests.

Head coach John Groce said the team did less physically throughout the week in practice, which he expects to produce a positive outcome.

“We really spent this week working on mind and body more than anything else,” Groce said. “I think we got that accomplished. You could tell guys were a little bit more bouncy since we shortened some things up this week, so that was good and refreshing for them.”

Groce said junior Kendrick Nunn and freshman Michael Finke used the time to continue recovering from their respective minor injuries, and the extended rest helped players like junior captain Malcolm Hill, who is third in the Big Ten in minutes played.

To supplement the decreased workload in practice, Groce said a larger emphasis was placed on watching film, which he tends to do this late in the season.

“It has been a long season, and our bodies have been physically tasked,” Groce said. “I want to make sure we don’t lose the game before the tip.”

Groce said injured center Mike Thorne Jr. continues to go through rehab and conditioning and his status hasn’t changed for Saturday’s game. He is not yet ready to declare Thorne Jr. or fellow big man Leron Black out for the season, though.

With Illinois limited once again in the paint, Northwestern may take advantage with its formidable duo of big men. Senior center Alex Olah leads the team in rebounding and blocked shots and can nail the occasional 3-pointer. Freshman center Dererk Pardon has impressed with extended minutes and dropped 28 points and 12 rebounds in just his second career game.

“They execute well, they screen really well and you can tell the benefit of playing a lot of their younger guys last year,” Groce said. “Now they’re older and more connected.”

Despite their recent struggles, the Wildcats are in the midst of their most successful season under head coach Chris Collins, mostly due to a one-loss non conference stretch — they put together a nine-game winning streak heading into Big Ten play.

They have respectable victories against Wisconsin and Nebraska and forced overtime in a near upset over Maryland. Sophomore floor general Bryant Macintosh drives the team’s play and is tops on the squad in scoring, assists and steals.

For two teams fighting to escape the quicksand of mediocrity in the Big Ten, something will have to give come Saturday.

[email protected]

@joeyfigueroa3