It's not all homework and no play for Bryant McIntosh.

But there's a lot of homework.

As he strolled through Welsh-Ryan Arena on Monday evening, the Northwestern junior guard was reminded of an essay he needed to write.

"I have a lot of essays to do," McIntosh said as he made a beeline for the team bus, which was leaving for Tuesday's game against Illinois in Champaign.

And the Wildcats will have plenty of work to do when they play the Illini, who won 68-61 on Feb. 7 in Evanston for the second of three losses in four games for Northwestern.

While McIntosh will be focused on essays and basketball, he and his NU teammates also will have their eyes on history.

The Wildcats (20-7, 9-5 Big Ten) could set or match three school records with one victory. They are one away from breaking the overall single-season record and one from tying the mark for conference victories, set in 1932-33. A win in Champaign also would give them six on the road, matching the mark set in 1930-31, when they captured their lone outright conference title.

Like a broken record, coach Chris Collins steered the conversation away from broken records.

"Anytime you play a road game, it's a tough game," Collins said. "We're playing a team that has won two of their last three, beat us a couple of weeks ago and deserved to beat us.

"Hopefully we can clean some stuff up. We had some critical miscues in that game."

Northwestern coach Chris Collins on the loss to Illinois

Wildcats' coach Chris Collins discusses NU's loss to Illinois. (Paul Skrbina/Chicago Tribune)

Wildcats' coach Chris Collins discusses NU's loss to Illinois. (Paul Skrbina/Chicago Tribune)

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The Wildcats led by six that night less than six minutes in. Less than six minutes later, Northwestern found itself down by nine with its leading scorer, Scottie Lindsey, sidelined by mononucleosis.

The Wildcats shot 33.9 percent against Illinois (15-12, 5-9), which received balanced scoring from Malcolm Hill (14 points), Maverick Morgan (11), Te'Jon Lucas (11) and Michael Finke (11).

"We remember them coming here and beating us," NU senior forward Sanjay Lumpkin said. "We've got to steal another road game."

Illinois coach John Groce expects the Wildcats to be a tougher out this time around with Lindsey back in the lineup. The junior swingman returned from a four-game absence for Saturday's 69-65 escape against Rutgers.

"He's a 15-point-per-game scorer," Groce said. "That gets your attention."

Collins, who said after Saturday's game he was upset with himself for playing Lindsey 24 minutes, said Lindsey is "not on a pitch count" going forward.

The Illini have won two of three, with both victories coming on the road. They topped Iowa 69-66 on Saturday behind Hill's 21 points and eight rebounds.

"We woke up Sunday and it's a different day," Groce said. "Monday's a different day. (Tuesday) is a different day. ... It will be a great challenge."

pskrbina@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @ChiTribSkrbina

Tribune reporter Shannon Ryan ranks the Big Ten men's basketball teams through the action of Feb. 19, 2017.

(Shannon Ryan)

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