Bracket or bust for Illini-Northwestern

There's a very good reason to expect a tournament-like atmosphere when Illinois takes on Northwestern on Saturday night in Evanston.

"It's basically an elimination game," said college basketball bracketologist Jerry Palm, founder and operator of collegerpi.com.

Because both teams' NCAA tournament hopes "are hanging by a thread," as Palm put it, neither can afford to waste many more opportunities to make its case.

Gould