No. 13 Illinois (14-3, 5-1) has now won six straight games after defeating Northwestern (8-9, 0-6) on Wednesday night, 79-68. The victory in Evanston is the Illini’s fourth conference road win of the year, which keeps them undefeated in that category. Against the Wildcats, different things worked at different times. Second-chance points were key in the first half, and a good shooting performance in the second allowed the Illini to stay ahead. There were some clear standouts in the contest as well as some players that did not meet their standard.
*Kylan Boswell (A): It was not a flashy night for senior guard Kylan Boswell, but he made a significant impact on both ends of the floor. Starting with his defense, which has been a calling card for the veteran, Boswell took on the toughest matchup of the night: senior forward Nick Martinelli. Martinelli is the Big Ten’s leading scorer, and for good reason. It’s tough to slow him down with his powerful build, and he can score both inside and out.
Martinelli dropped what Illinois head coach Brad Underwood described as a “quiet 20,” which had a lot to do with Boswell’s defensive pressure. Although he was able to get to the free throw line in both halves, Martinelli struggled from the field in the second, only shooting 2 for 7. That was important since junior guard Jayden Reid came out hot in the second half, and Martinelli was not able to supplement him as much, making it tough for Northwestern to combat Illinois’ offensive output.
“To have a player (Boswell) that strong, that athletic, that committed, that dedicated, fighting (Martinelli), which he did … and then when the little guard got going, when Reid got going, we switch him on Reid,” Underwood said. “It’s just nice to have a guy that versatile. He solves a lot of problems for us.”
Offensively, Boswell was very solid, tallying 13 points on 6 for 11 shooting. He also made his teammates better, dishing out six assists spread evenly across both halves. Boswell is not only one of the best defenders in the Big Ten, but one of the best two-way players that impacts winning in every way possible.
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“Then you look down and (Boswell)’s playing 37 minutes because of back issues with Keaton, he’s driving the ball to the basket, he’s getting fouled, he’s assisting,” Underwood said. “I tip my hat to him because he’s playing at an extremely high level and doing it on both ends.”
*Andrej Stojaković (C): It was a quiet night for junior wing Andrej Stojaković in Evanston. He only scored 4 points on 2 for 5 shooting, and all of his shot attempts came in the first half. While Underwood stresses how this year’s Illini are built so that any player can go off on a given night, Stojaković cannot be this quiet when he is known as a scorer.
A bright spot for Stojaković on Wednesday was that he grabbed six rebounds, including two on the offensive glass. However, that effort was once again concentrated in the first half. Despite playing 10 minutes, in the second, only one of his rebounds came in that period. It’s good to see more effort from Stojaković on the boards, but more consistency throughout a 40 minute game would have been better.
*Keaton Wagler (A): Enjoy freshman guard Keaton Wagler while you can. Despite dealing with back spasms pregame and having a quiet first half, Wagler once again shined when Illinois needed him. Wagler scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, shooting 7 for 12 from the field including three treys. These sorts of high output scoring runs are starting to become the norm for Wagler, who knocks down deep threes with ease and is extremely poised when the ball in his hands more often.
“It’s helped our team to do that and move (Wagler) on the ball,” Underwood said. “And that’s not a knock on anybody else, but it’s been great for Kylan to be off of it. It’s been great for him to be on it more. His reads, his decision making have been excellent. So it’s helped our group immensely.”
Even when he struggled early from the field (1 for 5 in the first half), Wagler still found other ways to contribute. He had four first-half rebounds, including two on the offensive glass. Back problems may have limited him early, but Wagler never let it bother him.
“Nothing fazes him,” Underwood said. “I asked him at halftime, I said, ‘You alright?’ He goes, ‘Yeah. I’ll be good. I’m just a little bothered.’ Just shrugs it off.”
*Ben Humrichous (C+): Graduate student forward Ben Humrichous made his first start of the year on Wednesday, but he played a season-low 14 minutes for the second straight game. Humrichous played 12 of those minutes in the first half and went largely unused in the second. He only scored 5 points on 1 for 5 shooting and did not provide any real scoring help.
Although he was not credited with any offensive rebounds, Humrichous did make several winning plays in the first half. He crashed the glass hard and tipped multiple missed shots back to his teammates for second-chance buckets. The Illini’s 15 second-chance points in the first 20 minutes kept them alive in a first half where they could not get outside shots to fall.
“Ben, he started for us and he made some big time plays early in the game, and that’s really what got us going,” Wagler said.
*Tomislav Ivišić (A): Junior center Tomislav Ivišić had a standout outing against Northwestern, tying his season-high of 21 points. It was his first 20+ point game since the season opener on Nov. 3, and it could not come at a better time. There have been some questions about if Ivišić would take jump from a strong sophomore season, but his junior year has been a little up and down. However, Wednesday night was a massive leap in the right direction and shows just how deadly Ivišić can be when things go right.
After a first half in which he was active on the glass but only shot 1 for 5 from three, Ivišić flipped a switch in the second, scoring 14 of his 21 points. The big man showed that he can get hot from three, draining 3 of 5 treys, including back-to-back triples with under three minutes to go. Ivišić made his last four shots of the game, including those two 3-pointers, to help Illinois close out another conference win on the road. Overall, he shot 4 for 10 from three and 4 for 5 from inside the arc, both strong stats.
“It’s what he does,” Underwood said. “It’s why he’s been on draft boards. He’s a big who can shoot the cover off of it. …No one’s ever doubted Tomi. On this team, with this balance, the way teams want to cover us, they gave us that shot.”
Zvonimir Ivišić (D+): With his brother Tomislav playing so well, Underwood utilized junior center Zvonimir Ivišić more sparingly against Northwestern, only playing him 13 minutes. Zvonimir, as usual, showed off his rim protecting abilities, blocking a shot in each half. However, he only scored 2 points on 1 for 3 shooting and had just 2 rebounds. This game may have called more for Tomislav to be the star, but even so, it was clearly a weaker performance for Zvonimir compared to the highs that he has shown in the past.
David Mirković (C+): Freshman forward David Mirković went through pregame warmups but did not start the game. It was later revealed that the Illini had been without Mirković after the Iowa game due to flu symptoms, and he was getting an IV when he was not on the bench at tipoff. However, Mirković joined the team a few minutes into the first half, and he ended up giving Illinois 30 minutes on the court.
Mirković’s offensive output came in the first half, with the young big man knocking down both of the threes he put up. Although he missed two layups, his pair of threes in the first half were big for an Illini squad that only made 4 of 18 in the first 20 minutes. Mirković also added five first-half rebounds before having a mostly unproductive second half (two fouls and two rebounds). Even though it was not his best game, the fact that Mirković still wanted to play through illness shows how he approaches the game. He’s ultra-competitive and wants to help his team win no matter the circumstances.
“(Mirković) hasn’t eaten, it’s been a blah two days” Underwood said. “He said today, he goes, ‘I’m tough, I’m tough.’ That’s who he is. …He came back out to the bench and said, ‘I’m good to go, play me.’”
Jake Davis (C+): Junior wing Jake Davis had a solid night in his 20 minutes, scoring 6 points on 2 for 3 shooting. Davis did not do much else, but he chipped in an offensive rebound and an assist. Making shots is what Illinois needs Davis to do, and although he did not shoot that much on Wednesday, a couple made shots and only one miss is always helpful.
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