Mustering 41 second-half points certainly was quite a feat for the Northwestern men’s basketball team. But what’s even more impressive is the Wildcats held the Fighting Illini to just 22.
Powered by its swarming defense, NU (7-7, 2-1) stumped Illinois (10-4, 1-2) in the second half to come away with an unlikely 70-60 victory over the nation’s No. 25 team. The Cat’s 1-3-1 zone defense drove their ability to shut down Illinois.
But it things didn’t look too promising in the first half as Illinois’ offense was blowing past NU. But Cats coach Bill Carmody told his team to stick with it.
“I had no other answers,” Carmody said. “I don’t know if the 1-3-1 was working because there are certain rules to it, and they weren’t following them. They were just roaming a bit and (Illinois) took advantage of it.
In the second half, the Cats rose to their coach’s challenge.
NU’s defense adjusted, leading to an Illini collapse. The Cats stuck with the 1-3-1 and the Illini struggled to knock down their shots. They cooled down an Illinois offense that had shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half, including 6-11 from behind the arc.
Although NU’s offense scored 41 points in the second half, the team’s defense seemed to be the deciding factor. The Cats flustered Illinois, as the team managed only 22 second-half points. Guard Dee Brown, center James Augustine and the rest of the Illini went cold.
“Some of their good players and good shooters had open looks and they didn’t knock ’em,” Carmody said.
Brown, the Illini’s leading scorer who entered halftime with 14 points on 5-10 shooting, scored five in the second half and made only 2-of-8 shots. Augustine, the Illini center, who had been effective in the paint, didn’t get open looks. And neither did guard Deron Williams, who sunk 2 of 7 from the field after the break.
“We were more aggressive on defense,” Cats guard Jitim Young said. “In the first half Dee Brown and Deron got shots that were wide open and in the second half they didn’t get those kind of open shots. We made them play tentative.”
The Illini shot just 21 percent from the field, including 10 percent on 2-of-20 shooting. Illinois coach Bruce Weber characterized his team’s production in the second half as abysmal.
Illinois, who had hurt NU with 16 points in the paint during the first half, lost its inside presence. NU allowed only 10 points in the paint after the intermission.
“When it became a gut-check game, we didn’t have somebody step up and make a couple of plays that make a difference,” Weber said.
As the Illini fell apart, NU gained momentum. The Cats’ defense clicked and the performance of junior Davor Duvancic rallied the offense with his 17 second-half points, finishing with 22 to lead all scorers.
Although Duvancic’s offense led the Cats, he said their defense set the tone and sealed the victory.
“It’s not our offense, it’s our defense, coach said,” a glowing Duvancic said. “Keep your defense and you’re going to win the game.”
Setting the record straight:
Thursday’s men’s basketball coverage misreported second-half scoring for two players in the Northwestern-Illinois game. NU’s Davor Duvancic had 17, and Illinois’ Dee Brown had five.
The Daily regrets the errors.
