Clash of conference contenders

The IU men's basketball team enjoyed a resurgence in team motivation against Northwestern last Wednesday night while the Illinois men's basketball team was suffering its first loss.\nAt 4 p.m. Saturday in Assembly Hall, these two ranked teams meet; one desperate to keep the win streak going, the other anxious to halt a downward spiral.\nOh, and add in that two of the top freshman guards in the Big Ten, who happen to be high school friends, will be facing off. It's expected to be quite a show.\n"I know that Bracey (Wright) has a lot of family coming in and (Illinois') Deron (Williams) has a lot of family coming in," IU coach Mike Davis said. "I'm sure there will be a little emotion in there and you have 30 people coming in and their high school coach, I'm sure there will be a lot of emotion flying around. I hope it's the best for us instead of them."\nBoth IU and Illinois are tied for third place in the Big Ten with one loss apiece. No. 8 Illinois was stunned by the Iowa loss Wednesday, while the Hoosiers were routed by the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus last Saturday night.\nBut the main story of Saturday's game is the reunion between Williams and Wright, whose friendship on and off the basketball court dates back to their days in The Colony, Texas.\nNow, while Wright is being heavily touted as one of the best freshmen in the country, Williams is making waves of his own in Illinois.\nWilliams has played in 14 games, and started 13 of them. For the Fighting Illini, Williams averages just over 24 minutes per game, but averages a mere 6.3 field goals per game. He is tied for second on the team with 17 steals.\nBut compared to Wright's number's, which are a team-high average of 19.1 points per game, it appears it won't be much of a contest.\nNot so, said Wright.\n"It should be interesting. I'm looking forward to playing against him," He said. "I haven't played with him in awhile, so playing against him will be something different. I know his moves pretty well. It won't really be an advantage, really. Even in high school we couldn't stop each other's moves."\nBut the match-up may not even take place if Wright's back is not healthy. Wright was on the bench during the Northwestern win, and following the game, Davis said that Wright's status will be determined on a day-to-day basis.\nBut if the IU guards are able to step up offensively and defensively, Wright's absence will not impact the game. Senior guards Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby both enjoyed a strong offensive game against Northwestern with a team-high 19 points apiece.\nThe Hoosiers also enjoyed a strong defensive stand against Northwestern, picking up 14 more rebounds than the Wildcats. This will be detrimental in the game against Illinois for the Hoosiers, especially when senior forward Brian Cook is under the basket.\nCook, who missed two games earlier in the season because of suspension, leads the team in overall points and rebounds per game, with 21.6 and 8.7 respectively.\nBut the Hoosiers are ready to defend themselves in Assembly Hall.\n"We have to get the win. We have to protect our home court," senior forward Jeff Newton said. "They are just another win in the Big Ten for us, so we have to have it"