CHAMPAIGN-It was another painful trip downstate for Northwestern, which dropped its ninth straight road game to in-state rival Illinois, 83-74, on Sunday at the State Farm Center.

The final score is a friendly one for the Wildcats, who fell behind 43-21 at the half and trailed by 20 with 4:43 left in the game before mounting a furious rally that made the score respectable.

"They were the tougher team, the hungrier team," said Northwestern head coach Chris Collins, who is now 0-9 in Champaign in his career. "We didn't respond to the initial punch and I'm disappointed in that because that hasn't been who we have been."

The late-game surge of eight straight field goals by the Wildcat bench made the counting stats closer than they should have been, but one stat tells the story of this lopsided game: rebounds. Illinois crashed the glass and outrebounded Northwestern 50-27 overall and 21-9 on the offensive end.

Illinois stymied Northwestern's dynamic duo of Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli. Barnhizer scored just 3 points on 1-for-7 shooting. Martinelli chipped in 17, tied with Jalen Leach for the team-high, but struggled to impact the game in his usual manner. Martinelli finished 7-for-19 from the floor, but he and Barnhizer didn't make a field goal inside the 3-point line in the first half.

"We were going to give Martinelli some 3s, we were worried about him in the paint," Underwood said. "I thought we did a great job negating some of those looks."

Illinois was without key center Tomislav Ivisic, but they were unfazed. Kylan Boswell led them with 17 points and was one of five Illini to crack double digits. The swarming Illini were a far cry from the unit that got beat by 21 points on their home floor by Maryland on Thursday night.

Here are our takeaways from Northwestern's latest struggle in Champaign, which dropped their record to 0-6 on the road, 12-8 overall and 3-6 in Big Ten play:

Champaign and Evanston still night and day: The Wildcats beat a ranked Illinois team on their home court in overtime for the second season in a row on Dec. 6. But don't let the final score fool you: they also got run off the court on the road by the Illini for the second season in a row.

Faint vestiges of Northwestern's homecourt magic emerged late in the game, with a 12-1 run to cut the deficit down to 8 points in the final minute. But when it was starters against starters, the Wildcats got wiped off the map.

Northwestern has crossed many barriers over the past three seasons, with success in the postseason and in home games against ranked or rival opponents. But they haven't been able to conquer their road demon against Illinois. The Wildcats had strong momentum coming into the game, with key wins over Maryland and Indiana during a 2-1 stretch, as well as the absence of Ivisic. But it didn't matter on Sunday as the Illini pulled away early.

Make no mistake, great strides have been made in the series. This is the third straight campaign of splitting home-and-home against some extremely talented Illinois teams. Frankly, it's been one of the best rivalries in the conference when the game is played in Evanston, which makes the recent wipeouts on the road even more peculiar.

Collins has preached that this program is taking the steps to elite status and, in the regular season, it's clear snapping this streak is the next one.

"We've been able to win home games [against Illinois]and that's been great," he said. "They're a championship level program... We're trying to build that [ourselves]. We're in the beginning stages. I think we've gotten a lot better and I think we are a respected program."

Illinois coach Brad Underwood was clear that he has that respect for the Wildcats, especially after their battles these past three seasons.

"It's life in the Big Ten and a tribute to Chris..." he said. "He's got really good players and and a great home court, they utilize it... Anytime we beat them is a hell of a win and we had to do a lot really well."

Collins cast concerns on Barnhizer's long-term health: Illinois' depth harried Barnhizer in a similar way to Purdue and Michigan State earlier this season, throwing multiple players with strength and length at the senior guard.

But even with that consideration, Barnhizer struggled mightily with just a field goal and a free throw in 26 minutes. Collins shuttered his star down the stretch with Northwestern down big and went through Barnhizer's laundry list of ailments.

"He took a really hard fall the other night and busted up his nose," Collins said, referring to Barnhizer's fall after a dunk against Indiana on Wednesday night. "He dinged up his wrist, he's been dealing with a foot issue all year long that he's fighting through, but that's no excuse."

Collins raised a red flag when he shed some light on just how much his star is affected.

"You want a guy in his senior year to be at full health..." he said. "I tell you what, there aren't a lot of guys with what he's going through that would even be out there."

It's not a coincidence that Barnhizer's toughest games have come against the toughest opponents: Purdue, Michigan State and Illinois, teams with athlete after athlete. So while there is cause for concern, Collins made sure to credit the Illini for their efforts and that the expectation is for Barnhizer to be right back to his typical self against Rutgers on Wednesday night.

"He's out there to compete," Collins said. "They had athletes, they kept bodies on him. [White], Boswell, I'm not diminishing what they did. But I didn't sense the normal pop and physicality which is why I took him out once the game was out of reach.

"I know he was mad, he wanted to go back in but I didn't like the way he was moving. We have to play the long game a little bit."

This is a variable situation with an extraordinarily tough player, but Collins was the most open he's been with the public about just how much pain Barnhizer is playing through. If the Wildcats can finish the season in the NCAA Tournament or on the bubble, it will be an incredible testament to Barnhizer's toughness and dedication to this program.

Flush it, on to the next: Similar to blowout losses to Purdue and Michigan State, this game was over quickly and featured a talented opponent with depth. Underwood said that he is "as bullish as he's ever been" on his team's Final Four potential once Ivisic is back.

The Wildcats have proven they can win on the margins and win at home. They have a game they need to win against Rutgers coming up next, and the perfect opportunity to recoup this loss next Sunday against Wisconsin at home.

Losing a ninth straight game in Champaign leaves a sour taste in the Wildcats' mouths, the team can't dwell on it.

As limited as Barnhizer looked against the Illini in a season-low 26 minutes, he's just four days from putting up 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists and six steals for a must-win game over Indiana. He'll have a few more days to rest and recover moving forward against teams that can't replicate the defensive onslaught of these top-tier teams.

Similarly, Martinelli won't be kept out of the paint for long. The Wildcats have taken some big hits this season, but each time they've gotten up off the mat.

The Big Ten is at a very high level this season and while Northwestern is behind the eight ball in 14th place in the current standings, it bears mentioning that four of their seven opponents this month were ranked, with three of those four games coming on the road.

Over their final 11 regular season games, the Wildcats will face just two ranked opponents, with only one on the road. The table is set for a run to the tournament bubble if the Wildcats can string together some wins in the closing stretch.