9 Illinois (17-3, 8-1) returns home on Thursday night for a matchup with Washington (11-9, 3-6). The Illini have won nine straight games, and will search for their 10th in front of their home crowd. Although Washington is an unranked opponent in between high profile games against top-5 opponents, Illinois cannot afford to take its foot off the gas pedal. Washington freshman forward Hannes Steinbach is also putting up 17.5 points per game. Even without Claude, Washington has a few other players that Illinois will be focusing on.