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 and Second Round Byes |
2* First and Second Round Byes |
3* First and Second Round Byes |
4* First and Second Round Byes |
5** First Round Bye |
6** First Round Bye |
7** First Round Bye |
8** First Round Bye |
9** First Round Bye |
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | NT | |||
| Indiana (7‑2) vs Penn State (8‑1) |
3 | Indiana Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 5% | 7% | 7% | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| Current Probabilities | 15% | 15% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 7% | 9% | ||
| Penn State Wins | 11% | 13% | 15% | 15% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 6% | ||
| Minnesota (5‑4) vs Purdue (8‑1) |
1 | Minnesota Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 9% | 10% | 13% |
| Current Probabilities | 15% | 17% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 7% | 9% | ||
| Purdue Wins | 11% | 13% | 15% | 15% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 5% | 7% | ||
| Nebraska (9‑0) vs Wisconsin (7‑2) |
1 | Nebraska Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 8% | 9% | 10% | 13% |
| Current Probabilities | 15% | 16% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 7% | 9% | ||
| Wisconsin Wins | 11% | 13% | 15% | 15% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 6% | ||
| Illinois (7‑2) vs Ohio St. (7‑1) |
0 | Illinois Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 8% | 9% | 10% | 13% |
| Current Probabilities | 15% | 16% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 7% | 9% | ||
| Ohio St. Wins | 11% | 13% | 15% | 15% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 6% | ||
| Maryland (6‑3) vs Michigan (7‑0) |
0 | Maryland Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 7% | 9% | 10% | 13% |
| Current Probabilities | 15% | 17% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 7% | 9% | ||
| Michigan Wins | 11% | 13% | 15% | 15% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 6% | ||