No. 5 Illinois (19-3, 10-1) takes on Northwestern (10-12, 2-9) for the second time this season, but this time, the in-state rivals will play in Champaign. The Illini defeated the Wildcats in Evanston last month, which is just one of their 11 straight victories. On Wednesday night, Northwestern will have a chance to break that streak, but it will be a tall task to topple the hottest team in college basketball right now. The Wildcats have not won in Champaign since 2013.
What the Illini are watching from the Wildcats
Last time these two teams played, Illinois won because of a blistering second half from three. Its offensive rebounding in the first half kept it close when shots were not falling. That has been a consistent theme across this win streak: Illinois can find a way to win no matter what is working. However, head coach Brad Underwood wants to make sure that the Illini are not only rebounding at a high rate, but keeping the other team from taking advantage of any opportunities they end up getting.
“We have to do a much better job on the glass than we did in the first game,” Underwood said. “We gave up 22 second chance points. (Northwestern freshman forward Tre) Singleton wore us out.”
In terms of recent standouts for the Wildcats that the Illini need to watch out for, freshman Jake West has been elevated to a larger role. West made his first start of the season against Illinois in January, but he has stayed in that spot since, playing more minutes and getting his hands on the ball more in the offense.
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“The West kid is playing much much better at the point than the first time we saw him,” Underwood said.
West has been flipped with junior guard Jayden Reid, who started coming off the bench once West began starting. Reid had a great game against the Illini back in January when he dropped 28 points on 9 of 15 shooting in 31 minutes off the pine. However, his role has been reduced since then.
Reid has played less minutes and has seen his shot attempts per game, which were in the double digits often during the first leg of the year, drop off a lot. Even though roles have changed for the Wildcats and he is a streaky player, Reid can still be a threat that the Illini need to watch out for.
As always, senior forward Nick Martinelli is going to be a problem. The Glenview, Illinois, native is still leading the Big Ten in scoring, and he is a threat from anywhere on the floor with his multi-level scoring ability.
“We’ve got to do a great job on Nick,” Underwood said. “We got to make his stuff hard and not give him easy opportunities.”
One big difference in Wednesday night’s matchup is that Illinois will be without senior guard Kylan Boswell. Boswell was key in helping slow down Martinelli back in January, but now, others will have to step up. Junior wing Andrej Stojaković will likely shoulder a lot of the load, especially on the perimeter. However, Illinois’ frontcourt will also need to step up to prevent Martinelli from being comfortable in the lane, if and when he is aggressive and drives to the hole.
Junior center Zvonimir Ivišić has taken pride in being a top-tier rim protector for the Illini. He has blocked at least one shot in every game on this win streak, and in most of those, he’s had multiple. Expect Ivišić to take on the Martinelli challenge with his usual high-energy to prevent open shots around the rim.
“We don’t want to be in a gamble mode on the perimeter, but it is comforting to know that there’s some positional size back there,” Underwood said. “I think our mentality has always been no layups.”
Boswell injury update
Boswell had surgery on his fractured right hand on Jan. 22, and Underwood is hoping to have his veteran leader back soon.
“We’ll have a better idea (of a timeline) here in the next 24 to 48 hours,” Underwood said. “He’s still got stitches in his hand. He’s working on his conditioning at a pretty high clip right now to keep doing that. And he’s working on offhand stuff, but it’s a process that we sure don’t want to rush.”
In the meantime, Boswell has continued to be a vocal leader on the bench. His role has not changed, outside of not being able to play. This is still his team while he recovers and tries to get back on the floor.
“Like a veteran who cares, like a veteran who’s invested,” Underwood said. “Just been incredible with our guys on the bench. He’s there every day in practice. He’s in every huddle with them. He’s truly like another coach. I wouldn’t have expected any different. And then all the meanwhile, he’s having to do his own deal and work and stay in shape. So, but he’s been a dream. He’s been another coach.”
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