Men’s Basketball

No matter the home or away team, winning a Big Ten matchup is a difficult task to complete. An in-state rivalry intensifies the atmosphere even more.

These key components didn’t seem to come into play early on in Northwestern’s contest against the team nearly two hours to the south, No. 24 Illinois, on Saturday.

As the game passed the 14-minute mark, the Fighting Illini expanded their lead to eight points off a close-range Coleman Hawkins jumper. On the following possession, sophomore guard Ty Berry attempted to close it to a five-point game with a three, but was unable to knock it down, adding to the team’s shooting woes — going 1-for-10 from the field up to that point.

Although a glimmer of offensive hope shone for the Cats a minute later as graduate forward Elyjah Williams and senior forward Pete Nance hit back-to-back buckets, NU continued to struggle from the field. Until the five-minute mark, the group scored all of its points from the free throw line, allowing Illinois to maintain its lead.

The Wildcats shooting struggles began to disappear, though, following Illinois’ Luke Goode’s turnover, resulting in a Nance three. Berry then joined his teammate in the deep-shot category, knocking down one of his own to make it to a four-point game. By the end of the half, the two teams were separated by only five points, 24-19 — NU’s lowest halftime point total of the season.

The home team continued to claw back exiting the break, going on an 8-0 run led by six points from junior guard Boo Buie. Soon after, Berry drained a top of the key three, hoisting the group point total over Illinois, 32-31.

The two teams traded blows as the contest dwindled down, until the three minute mark, where the Wildcats offense went cold. Unable to find the basket, NU couldn’t get their motor to turn back on, allowing the Fighting Illini to pull out a close victory, 59-56.

Takeaways:
Transition opportunities may be the key to unlocking NU’s offense

The Fighting Illini’s defense stifled the Wildcats from the field, especially in the first half, limiting them to six makes out of 26 attempts. However, four of these baskets came from Illinois turnovers – three of them being threes. By the end of the contest, NU outscored the opposing team in this category – to —. Even though their set offense wasn’t clicking like they wanted it to, the team’s transition success reflects the importance of not only getting these opportunities, but also how dangerous they can be there.

Key bench players step up in Audige and Buie’s quiet performances

Before facing Illinois and in the team’s last few contests, Berry and Williams’ impacts on the offensive end were minimal. Since Berry’s 23-point outing versus No.13 Ohio State, the guard’s highest point total was five points. For Williams, the forward hadn’t scored more than 10 points since November. However, the duo broke out of their funk, dropping a combined —– points. With both Buie and redshirt guard Chase Audige only notching —, the role players stepped up huge in the home contest.

Nance’s bucket-getting performance carries Cats

By the end of the first 20 minutes, outside of Nance, NU shot two-for-16 from the field and eight points. The largest reason behind the team being behind only five points – Nance’s nine. The team’s leading scorer continued to stay hot from the field in the second half, picking up 12 points, a major reason behind the team staying in the contest.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @LPIII_TRES

Related Stories:
— Men’s Basketball: Northwestern’s inability to finish late looms large in two-point Michigan loss
— Men’s Basketball: Northwestern fails to close game despite second half run, falls to Michigan 72-70
— Rapid Recap: Michigan 72, Northwestern 70