No. 5 Illinois (20-3, 11-1) stayed perfect on the season against Northwestern (10-13, 2-10), putting on an offensive masterclass to defeat its in-state rival by 40 points, 84-44, for its 12th straight win. The Illini and the Wildcats put up polar opposite shooting performances on Wednesday night, which ultimately led to the Illini’s domination on the scoreboard. Not a single Wildcat hit the double-digit scoring mark either, not even the Big Ten Conference’s top-scorer senior forward Nick Martinelli, who the Illini held to just 4 points.
Once again, Illinois proved that it doesn’t lack offensive firepower from every position on the floor as five players scored in double-figures. Junior wing Andrej Stojaković was the Illini’s leading scorer with 17 points on 4 for 8 shooting from the field. Illinois also shot a solid 44.7% from the 3-point line. After not hitting a single three against Nebraska, freshman forward David Mirković bounced back and knocked down four triples to lead Illinois on Wednesday.
Overpowering offense
Despite an aggressive defensive start by Northwestern, trapping freshman guard Keaton Wagler from the jump, Illinois’ offense was firing on all cylinders from start to finish. The Illini shot 48.3% from the field, including shooting over 40% from the 3-point line. No matter if it was contested at the end of the shot clock or a three off the first pass of the offensive possession, Illinois didn’t seem to miss a whole lot, and its confidence was evident once shots started going down.
On Sunday, Nebraska’s trapping forced some turnovers for Illinois, especially when driving the lane, but it clearly cleaned up the offense and was prepared going into Wednesday. Other than two turnovers early for Wagler and Mirković, the Illini weren’t fazed by the physicality, played through it and ultimately benefited.
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Instead of trying to fight through the double teams, Illinois relied on its ball movement to create better, more open shots. As a team that shoots plenty of threes, this helped it shoot them at a high percentage and use them to keep building its lead throughout the game. Graduate student forward Ben Humrichous found his 3-point shot almost immediately after he checked into the game, drilling a right-wing three on his first possession. After going 0 for 6 from deep against Nebraska, Humrichous did a complete 180, hitting three triples in the first half on Wednesday.
“He doesn’t have to play in Pinnacle Bank Arena anymore because he’s 0 for 14 in his career,” said head coach Brad Underwood. “ … He’s just shooting good shots and I think that’s the beauty of this and he’s seeing other teammates have that success. I think his confidence is sky high because of what he’s doing defensively.”
Humrichous wasn’t the only one who lit it up from beyond the arc, as all the Illini got their fair share. Mirković was also a sniper all night long as he led Illinois in made 3-point field goals, going 3 for 4. As another player who struggled from beyond the arc against Nebraska earlier this week, Mirković provided a reminder of his ability to stretch the floor as not only a ball handler, but a shooter as well.
Illinois’ 3-point shooting in the first half is ultimately what separated it from Northwestern, and it didn’t look back for the rest of the game. The Illini went on a seven-minute 22-4 run in the middle of the first half, where it hit seven of its 17 total triples of the game. While Illinois had a short period where it went scoreless at the end of the half, a 3-pointer from junior forward Jake Davis with about 30 seconds left and a buzzer-beating half-court heave by Wager reset the tone going into halftime.
One of the beauties of Illinois’ offense is that it can hand the reins over to anyone to lead it in scoring and in different capacities. The second half saw both junior center Zvonimir Ivišić’s 3-point prowess, going 3 for 4 from three, and ability to play over the top of defenses, slamming down a dunk off a Wagler assist. Zvonimir led the Illini in second-half scoring with 11 points on 4 for 6 shooting and continued to prove he is a threat anywhere on the floor coming off the bench.
“You got to pick your poison on what you want to do with them because they have great players at all five spots,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said. “They have players that can hurt you from those five spots and they shot the ball really well.”
While the Illini excelled from the 3-point line overall, their leading scorer didn’t hit one of his two attempts, showing off the versatility of the offense once again. Stojaković benefitted from Northwestern’s physicality as he shot 10 free throws and went 9 for 10 on those attempts. He also got into the open floor more in transition than he has as of late, which is where he excels in getting downhill the most. Northwestern’s smaller perimeter defenders allowed Stojaković to get back to finishing at the rim consistently, and he didn’t take that for granted.
“The drive was there tonight,” Stojaković said. “I tried to go up as aggressive as possible.”
Poor shooting puts Northwestern in deep trouble
Illinois couldn’t seem to miss a shot in State Farm Center on Wednesday night, but that wasn’t the same story for Northwestern. Amidst the Illini’s current winning streak, one way it has improved on the defensive side of the ball is by mostly focusing on taking away two-point shots. That means they sacrifice a few more threes here and there from their opponents. This wasn’t a problem against Northwestern.
Although the Wildcats attempted 25 threes in the matchup, they made only four of those attempts, which put them at an even larger disadvantage, especially when the Illini did almost the complete opposite on the other end. In the first meeting between the two teams, Northwestern junior guard Jayden Reid presented a problem for Illinois from deep, going 4 for 6 from the 3-point line. That wasn’t the case this time around, though, as he only hit one. Stojaković’s defensive effort guarding Reid played a role in his struggles on Wednesday, as his size was tough for Reid to handle.
“It doesn’t matter what size it is,” Underwood said about Stojaković’s defense. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a point guard like it was tonight with Reid or if it’s a wing, Andrej is just eating that up. He’s becoming just an incredible two-way player and not just a scorer.”
Another Wildcat that the Illini knew could present a problem for them once again was Martinelli, as he sits on top of the Big Ten in points per game this season. However, Illinois didn’t have a problem handling Martinelli this time around, as he went 2 for 10 from the field in 27 minutes of play. Senior guard Kylan Boswell took on the challenge of defending Martinelli in the first matchup, but with him on the bench with an injury others stepped up.
Both Mirković and Zvonimir got their chances defending the Big Ten’s leading scorer, and neither of them disappointed. Per usual, Zvonimir’s rim protection made it hard for Martinelli to get any clean looks at the rim, as he recorded two blocks. Mirković’s defensive improvements were also evident from the beginning of the season in terms of his effort, as he was physical with Martinelli and didn’t give him chances for offensive rebounds or second-chance points.
“I think it was just a freshman growing up,” Underwood said about Mirković’s defensive improvements. “He called himself Dennis Rodman tonight because he took that challenge on. One thing about Mirk is that he never backs down from any challenge. He is that guy. He wants that thrown upon him.”
Assists, rebounds, put cherry on top
Alongside its scoring, Illinois was also efficient in other areas, which contributed to it extending its winning streak by another game. Another piece that makes the Illini offense so difficult to guard is that it is filled with willing distributors both on the perimeter and its frontline. Illinois recorded 20 assists as a team on Wednesday, which showed off its ability not only to score, but also to pass.
Wagler and junior center Tomislav Ivišić led the Illini with five assists apiece, dishing off to 3-point shooters from anywhere on the court as well as cutters coming through the lane. To have players that can not only score at a high volume but also pass at that same level effectively gives the Illini even more opportunity for high-quality shot selection against tough defensive schemes.
“To me, (passing) means IQ, means unselfishness,” Underwood said. “ … I don’t think it’s just that we’re a willing passing team. It’s that we pass and we put the ball in the pocket. We deliver it at the right time … We’ve tried to recruit that and you know, it’s our job as coaches to put them in space and give them opportunities to show that off.”
The Illini also didn’t falter on the offensive or defensive glass either, as usual. Illinois out-rebounded Northwestern, 50 to 23, in overall rebounds, which didn’t help Northwestern as it wasn’t hitting shots all night long. With the Wildcats poor shooting percentage, the Illini needed to stay strong on the defensive glass, and they did just that, with Tomislav leading the team with 12 rebounds, all defensive. His twin brother Zvonimir, on the other hand, handled the offensive glass by grabbing five of his seven rebounds on that end of the floor. In this matchup, Illinois proved yet again that winning the rebounding battle is always a key to walking away from a game victorious.
“Coach remind us before every game who wins the rebounding battle they win the game,” Mirkovic said. “I mean, a lot of games we played, we won (the) rebounding battle, and that’s one of the biggest reasons we having this streak and we (are) beginning to win.”
@evy_york2
