The Most Important Games for the Northwestern Wildcats are those conference games in the upcoming week whose outcome most changes the Wildcats final standings. The Importance Factor provides a relative importance between games. Northwestern Wildcats fans can use this table to identify the most interesting conference games in the upcoming week of play.
| Game | Importance Factor (0‑∼100) |
Game Winner |
Northwestern Resultant Probabilities | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season Finish | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1* First, Second, and Third Round Byes |
2* First, Second, and Third Round Byes |
3* First, Second, and Third Round Byes |
4* First, Second, and Third Round Byes |
5** First and Second Round Byes |
6** First and Second Round Byes |
7** First and Second Round Byes |
8** First and Second Round Byes |
9*** First Round Bye |
10*** First Round Bye |
11*** First Round Bye |
12*** First Round Bye |
13*** First Round Bye |
14*** First Round Bye |
15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | |||
| NorthwesternN. Western (10‑13) vs Iowa (17‑5) |
18 | NorthwesternN. Western Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 9% | 25% | 29% | 19% | 11% | 4% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% | ||
| Iowa Wins | X | X | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 4% | 15% | 27% | 24% | 19% | 12% | ||
| Nebraska (20‑2) vs Rutgers (9‑14) |
7 | Nebraska Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 26% | 22% | 17% | 11% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% | ||
| Rutgers Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 4% | 12% | 29% | 25% | 19% | 11% | ||
| USC (17‑6) vs Penn State (10‑13) |
2 | USC Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 28% | 22% | 17% | 10% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% | ||
| Penn State Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 15% | 24% | 22% | 18% | 14% | ||
| Purdue (18‑4) vs Oregon (8‑14) |
2 | Purdue Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 23% | 17% | 10% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% | ||
| Oregon Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 15% | 23% | 23% | 19% | 13% | ||
| UCLA (16‑7) vs Washington (12‑11) |
1 | UCLA Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 10% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% | ||
| Washington Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 23% | 18% | 10% | ||
| Michigan St. (19‑4) vs Illinois (20‑3) |
1 | Michigan St. Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% | ||
| Illinois Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 16% | 26% | 23% | 18% | 11% | ||
| Michigan (21‑1) vs Ohio St. (15‑7) |
0 | Michigan Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 16% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% | ||
| Ohio St. Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 26% | 23% | 17% | 11% | ||
| Maryland (8‑13) vs Minnesota (11‑12) |
0 | Maryland Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 7% | 15% | 24% | 22% | 19% | 12% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% | ||
| Minnesota Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 4% | 17% | 29% | 22% | 16% | 10% | ||
| Indiana (15‑8) vs Wisconsin (16‑6) |
0 | Indiana Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% |
| Current Probabilities | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 27% | 22% | 17% | 11% | ||
| Wisconsin Wins | X | X | X | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 5% | 17% | 26% | 22% | 18% | 11% | ||