It was absolute domination from State Farm Center, as Illinois made its case to being the nation’s hottest team.
A No. 5 ranked Illini team (20-3, 11-1 Big Ten) dubbed “vastly superior” by a defeated Chris Collins in the postgame presser, completely overwhelmed the Wildcats on Wednesday night. Illinois’ 84-44 victory was the biggest in the Illinois-Northwestern rivalry since the Illini’s 42-point win in 1995, as the ‘Cats (10-13, 2-10 Big Ten) hit rock bottom amidst a troublesome season.
Though Illinois dominated Northwestern in all aspects of the game, most notable was the shooting disparities between the two squads. Underwood’s side lit it up from deep all night long, shooting 17-for-37 from three. Meanwhile, NU shot just 29% from the field and 16% from deep, while getting outrebounded 50-20.
Andrej Stojakovic led all scorers with 17 points, though the Illini had five players in double digits — four of which, made three or more perimeter shots. On the other end, Tre Singleton led the ‘Cats’ quiet offense with eight points, while Nick Martinelli had a rare off night, netting a season low 4 points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Illinois’ Tomislav Ivisic won the tip for the Fighting Illini, and Northwestern immediately dropped back defensively into a 2-1-2 zone; an untraditional defensive look for the Wildcats.
In the game’s opening minutes, the zone was effective. As is often the case when playing zone, Northwestern conceded multiple open perimeter looks to Illinois. Yet, through the game’s opening four minutes, the Illini were unable to convert on these outside scoring opportunities. After a three from Jayden Reid, the ‘Cats led 5-2 in the early going.
The entire game would be flipped upside-down at 16:15, when David Mirkovic hit Illinois’ first three of the game. The flame was lit; the Illini would be red hot from deep the rest of the ballgame.
Over the next nine minutes, though the ‘Cats switched out of their zone and into a more traditional man-to-man defense, Illinois shot a blistering 8-of-11 from deep. On the other end, the ‘Cats had started cold, shooting just 3-of-14 from the field, while Martinelli, the nation’s leading scorer, was held scoreless.
The Illini led 30-9 after a scorching 25-2 run. Over almost eight minutes of action, an Arrinten Page layup stood as the ‘Cats’ only field goal.
At 7:33, the run seemed to have broken with a Reid layup; the Illini immediately responded with another Mirkovic triple, his third of the game. Andrej Stojakovic and Keaton Wagler added five free throws in the subsequent possessions, as the Illini answered with another 8-0 onslaught.
In the eleven minutes after the 16:15 mark, the Illini outran the ‘Cats 33-8, leading 38-11 with five minutes remaining in the first half. Through fifteen minutes, Illinois was unstoppable — it was one of the most dominant stretches in the college basketball season by one of the nation’s best teams.
Over the half’s final two minutes, Singleton got to the rim three times for six points, but the ‘Cats remained unable to stop Illinois on the other end of the floor. Davis drained his second three of the night before Wagler banked in a half-court heave as time expired, electrifying the State Farm Center crowd once again heading into the locker room.
After a lopsided twenty minutes, the Illini led 47-19. Illinois controlled the first period in all aspects, nabbing 23 rebounds and shooting 51.7% percent from the field and 50.0% from deep, firmly outpacing the ‘Cats’ lowly 11 rebounds and 25.8/8.3 shooting splits.
Wagler, Illinois’ freshman sensation, led all scorers with 10 points, though it was truly a team effort for the Illini, who saw Mirkovic, Stojakovic and Humrichous also score more than eight points in the first half. Singleton’s eight points paced the ‘Cats, while Martinelli was held to just two points, shooting 1-of-6 from the field.
Unfortunately for Northwestern, the Illini picked up right where they left off in the second half. After Martinelli connected upon a jump shot to start the scoring, Illinois took off once again on a 16-4 run from 17:38 to 12:33. Mirkovic hit his fourth three of the game, moving to 4-for-4 on the day, while each of the Ivisic brothers also connected from deep.
Trailing 63-23, the ‘Cats faced their biggest deficit of the season. Jake West scored five points on consecutive possessions, and got to the line for two free-throws after a technical foul was called on Tomislav Ivisic.
State Farm Center erupted as West missed both technical free-throws, feasting on another Northwestern shortcoming and the promise of free McDonalds chicken nuggets. A few possessions later, Stojakovic made his sixth and seventh free throws of the evening, pushing the Illini lead back to 40 at 9:35.
Off of Stojakovic’s free-throws, Illinois went on another double-digit scoring streak, outpacing Northwestern 11-0. Leading 79-30, it seemed imminent that the Illini would surpass their 1943 42-point record for greatest margin of victory in the Illinois-Northwestern basketball rivalry. However, late contributions from K.J. Windham, Angelo Ciaravino and Tyler Kropp prevented a historically lopsided result.
Illinois 84, Northwestern 44. Final score. Arguably the worst showing by any Northwestern team in the Chris Collins era, it’s safe to say nothing went right for the Wildcats in Champaign.
Category: General Sports
