Illinois had no mercy on the Wildcats.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois caught fire early from beyond the arc and did not hesitate to slow down.
Coming off consecutive top-5 road wins for the first time in program history after taking down No. 4 Purdue and No. 5 Nebraska, Illinois reminded its fans of the depth it has to offer with five Illini in double figures, taking down Northwestern 84 to 44 Wednesday night at State Farm Center to extend its winning streak to 12 games. With the Illini picking up their third-straight victory against Northwestern, they now sit at 11-1 in Big Ten play and 20-3 overall, marking the program’s best start since opening the 2005-06 season at 20-2.
In a game that saw the Illini hit 11 first-half triples with a different guy knocking it down each possession, the near-perfect half was topped off by a half-court buzzer beater from freshman phenom Keaton Wagler that put the Illini up 28 going into the break and left the Wildcats no hope.
Ranked second in the Big Ten with 11.0 three-pointers per game, the Illini surpassed their game average effortlessly Wednesday night, hitting 11 threes on 50% from the perimeter in the first half to jump ahead 47-19. And Underwood’s squad had no plans to slow down, pouring in another 6 triples and shooting 13-29 from the field in the second half.
On the other hand, Northwestern’s offense couldn’t buy a bucket. Wildcats head coach Chris Collins’ squad shot just 16% from beyond the arc and 29% from the field. The Big Ten’s leading scorer, Nick Martinelli, only managed to rack up four points for the Wildcats on 2-10 shooting. Junior guard Jayden Reid, who finished with 28 points against the Illini in Evanston last month, wasn’t there to save the day for the Wildcats this time, finishing with seven points on 3-10 shooting.
One of Underwood’s focal points entering Wednesday’s matchup was performing on the glass against the Wildcats after allowing them to rack up 22 second-chance points and snag 30 rebounds last month during the narrow win in Evanston at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
It’s easy to say that preparation paid off, as the Illini dominated the glass to win the rebound battle 49 to 21 and pour in 14 second-chance buckets. Illinois leads the Big Ten in second-chance points per-game and ranks second in the Big Ten in rebound margin.
Stat Stuffers
David Mirkovic: 12 points, seven rebounds, 4-5 3FG
Andrej Stojakovic: 17 points, four rebounds, 9-10 FT
Ben Humrichous: 13 points, seven rebounds, 3-6 3FG
Keaton Wagler: 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists
Zvonimir Ivisic: 13 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, 3-5 3FG
Riding the program’s longest win streak since opening the 2012-13 season at 12-0, Illinois travels to East Lansing Saturday to face No. 10 Michigan State.
Category: General Sports
