One day before Northwestern looked to upset No. 10 Illinois in Welsh Ryan Arena, coach Chris Collins traversed his home court with reporters and emphasized his team’s need to complement graduate student guard Boo Buie.
Earlier this month, the Wildcats (14-5, 5-3 Big Ten) suffered a 30-point defeat to the Fighting Illini (14-5, 5-3 Big Ten), and conference contention aspirations seemed to take a major hit.
In a versatile offense clinic, NU avenged its blowout loss and maintained its perfect home conference record.
Although the ‘Cats trailed for most of the first half, they reclaimed the lead in the final seconds courtesy of a Buie layup. NU entered the intermission with a 34-32 advantage, and Buie led all scorers with 12 points on a 6-of-10 shooting clip from the field.
Buie ended up recording a game-high 29 points, but the ‘Cats still needed offensive contributions from across their lineup to stay upright in Wednesday’s heavyweight bout.
Once the second half commenced, NU moved the ball with newfound freedom and navigated through Illinois’ defensive looks. With the offense clicking, junior guard Brooks Barnhizer and senior guard Ty Berry both poured in 12 second-half points.
After the ‘Cats fell into their first second-half deficit, Barnhizer and Berry began to blossom, alleviating pressure from their All-Big Ten playmaker.
During a near five-minute stretch, Barnhizer and Berry tallied the hosts’ next 12 points. Canning a pair of jumpers, Barnhizer helped reclaim NU’s lead.
“Coach is putting me in positions where I can go make plays and be aggressive,” Barnhizer said. “I had a rough stretch over the first few conference games, but the coaches told me to ‘go have fun and play.’”
After the Fighting Illini jumped back in front four minutes into the second frame, Berry recorded his first eight points of the game via a pair of 3-pointers and a pullup jumper to put the ‘Cats back on top.
Despite not attempting a field goal during the first frame, the senior guard picked up steam in the second half, canning three treys and shooting 4-of-7 from the field. After Wednesday’s victory, Berry eclipsed double figures in seven of his last nine games.
“I was proud of (Berry’s) patience,” Collins said. “He knows we need him to score. He didn’t get many looks in the first half and had a couple of fouls. (But) in the second half, we were able to call on his number off some off-ball (screens) and knocked down some big shots.”
Following a five-point Fighting Illini swing, Barnhizer matched Berry’s offensive prowess. The junior guard canned a pair of 3-pointers to snag the matchup’s momentum.
Barnhizer’s second-half heroics have become a recurring theme in recent games.
Facing Penn State on the road Jan. 10, Barnhizer tallied 17 second-half points to lead the ‘Cats toward a comeback victory. His road form continued in last Saturday’s Nebraska defeat, as he poured in 18 second-half points to help NU push back into contention.
“(Barnhizer) has been a great secondary (scorer) to (Buie) who can get to the basket,” Collins said. “All he wants to do is win and compete. It’s been fun to watch his growth this year from a good player to an all league caliber (player).”
While the tandem sparked many scoring runs for its team, Barnhizer and Berry rose to the occasion when it mattered most.
After the Fighting Illini used a 7-0 run to claim a four-point lead, the visitors’ appeared to hold significant momentum. Illinois fans’ cheers began to overtake Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Within the final few minutes of regulation, both teams slowed down offensively, but the duo continued to remain unscathed, as Barnhizer’s second-chance layup and Berry’s 3-pointer reclaimed a one-point lead.
As Barnhizer and Berry packed just enough firepower to send the game into overtime, the former’s four-point-play helped the ‘Cats build an almost insurmountable lead.
“It’s all been about confidence and the work I put in over the offseason,” Barnhizer said. “(I’ve) always known I could play like this, but now I’m healthy and have my confidence going. We’re winning and when you win, a lot of good things happen, so we’ve got to keep it going.”
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