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 (8‑9) vs Nebraska (17‑0) |
10 | NorthwesternN. Western Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 9% | 14% | 19% | 22% | 21% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| Nebraska Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 10% | 17% | 25% | 34% | ||
| Wisconsin (12‑5) vs Rutgers (9‑8) |
1 | Wisconsin Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 24% | 32% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| Rutgers Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 18% | 25% | 33% | ||
| Michigan (14‑1) vs Oregon (8‑9) |
1 | Michigan Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 7% | 11% | 17% | 24% | 32% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| Oregon Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 10% | 17% | 25% | 34% | ||
| Illinois (14‑3) vs Minnesota (10‑7) |
1 | Illinois Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| Minnesota Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 33% | ||
| Michigan St. (15‑2) vs Washington (10‑7) |
1 | Michigan St. Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 33% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| Washington Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 18% | 25% | 33% | ||
| Maryland (7‑9) vs Penn State (9‑8) |
0 | Maryland Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 7% | 12% | 16% | 22% | 34% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| Penn State Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| Purdue (16‑1) vs USC (14‑3) |
0 | Purdue Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| USC Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| UCLA (12‑5) vs Ohio St. (11‑5) |
0 | UCLA Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 33% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| Ohio St. Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| Indiana (12‑5) vs Iowa (12‑5) |
0 | Indiana Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 7% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 33% |
| Current Probabilities | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 11% | 17% | 25% | 32% | ||
| Iowa Wins | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 10% | 17% | 25% | 33% | ||