Despite the soaring heights coach Chris Collins has reached in his tenure in Evanston, the tactician never took his squad into the State Farm Center and left unscathed. Now, with Northwestern hitting the road for a heavyweight instate bout at No. 9 Illinois, Collins and company carried a prime opportunity to rewrite history.
On the back of a three-game winning streak, the Wildcats (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten) looked to celebrate the new year with a monumental victory over their archrivals. However, the Fighting Illini (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten) dutifully disposed of the visitors in blowout fashion.
Illinois started the game on a tear, pouring in the night’s first seven points, but graduate student guard Boo Buie and senior guard Ty Berry kept NU in contention. The tandem combined for the team’s opening 10 points, as the Fighting Illini carried a 16-10 lead into the first media timeout.
Once the under-12 timeout hit, Illinois’ unconscious start from the field cooled slightly to a 9-of-15 clip. At the opposite end of the barrel, the ‘Cats canned just 5-of-13 field goals and trailed 24-14.
Although NU worked its way back within seven points, the Fighting Illini ripped off an 11-0 run, holding the ‘Cats scoreless for more than three minutes and building a 39-21 lead. Behind Buie’s 13 points, the ‘Cats entered halftime in a 46-29 hole.
Following the break, Illinois kept its foot on the gas pedal, building a 25-point edge with just under 13 minutes remaining. And on a night when the Fighting Illini appeared several steps ahead, coach Brad Underwood’s squad cruised to a comfortable victory.
Here are three takeaways from NU’s road loss to Illinois.
- ‘Cats struggle to take the lid off the basket
Across the floor, the Fighting Illini carried potential matchup nightmares into Tuesday’s tilt. For the ‘Cats, one of their toughest conference road tests arrived at just the new year’s second day.
Through 20 minutes of action, NU appeared to lack any semblance of offensive spark. The ‘Cats unleashed 32 first-half shots from the field — just 10 fell. Fluidity was few and far between, with NU tallying just three assists in that span.
Apart from Buie’s solo scoring effort, the ‘Cats struggled to support their preseason All-American. Graduate student guard Ryan Langborg didn’t score a point in the first half, while junior guard Brooks Barnhizer tallied four points on just 1-of-8 shooting.
- Illinois shines in Terrence Shannon Jr.’s stead
When Fighting Illini guard Terrence Shannon Jr. was suspended from Illinois following charges of rape, many pundits questioned whether Underwood’s team would plummet from its nonconference successes without its superstar — one AP pollster even removed the group from his top 25.
Through 11 games this season, Shannon had averaged 21.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while playing a pivotal role in the Fighting Illini’s defensive effort. With such production now out of the rotation, Underwood needed other contributors to step up.
Enter Illinois guard Marcus Domask. Though he had averaged a hair under 12 points per game through 12 starts, Domask displayed his elite scoring potential on several occasions this season.
This proved no different Tuesday night.
The graduate transfer from Southern Illinois seemed to score at will. It didn’t seem to matter where he tried his luck. Domask couldn’t miss, and his teammates turned in an all around performance that secured a statement home victory.
- NU looks to bounce back against Michigan State
After the ‘Cats were simply overpowered in Champaign, Collins’ bunch will look to regroup before the Spartans enter Welsh-Ryan Arena in five days’ time.
Although Michigan State had a tumultuous start to its 2023-24 campaign, the Spartans have caught fire, knocking off top-25 foe Baylor and starting a four-game winning streak.
Last season, NU’s strength rose from its resilience and tenacity — especially after a blowout loss to Ohio State about a year ago. With Big Ten play only ramping up from this juncture, the ‘Cats can’t stack up losses with a potential NCAA Tournament trip in mind.
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