After a disappointing loss to Iowa, Northwestern coach Bill Carmody berated the veteran leadership on his team. His players heard him loud and clear – because they relayed that frustration onto an unsuspecting Illinois team on Thursday.
Sparked by 44 points from the seniors, Northwestern (12-7, 2-3 Big Ten) rode a hot start to a convincing 68-54 victory over No. 23 Illinois (14-5, 1-4).
Senior Reggie Hearn led five Wildcats in double figures with 20 points on the night. Senior guard Brandon Paul had a game-high 21 for the Illini, who have lost five of their last seven games.
The ‘Cats came out firing, hitting 5-of-6 three-pointers in the first ten minutes. The Princeton offense looked as crisp as it has all year. Northwestern attacked the basket right from the start, and when Illinois was forced to sag off on its help side defense, the ‘Cats were able to drive and kick for open threes. Once the Illini decided to play tight defense again, sophomore Dave Sobolewski hit freshman Kale Abrahamson on a beautiful backdoor cut for an uncontested layup.
On the other end, the Illini owned the glass, grabbing seven offensive rebounds in the first period, but they were hindered by porous offensive shooting and missed layups. The ‘Cats were able to frustrate them into several charging calls and a technical foul on sophomore center Nnanna Egwu. As the buzzer sounded, Illinois’s Sam McLaurin bricked an uncontested put-back layup, capping off Illinois' forgettable first half and sending the Wildcats into the locker room up 36-21.
The second half was a pure dogfight. Northwestern’s offense slowed as Illinois turned up the defense. The Illini pressure defense forced several turnovers, and a transition three from Paul sliced the deficit to 38-28.
But the ‘Cats didn’t panic. Veteran leadership took over, and Northwestern's next three field goals were three-pointers from seniors Jared Swopshire, Alex Marcotullio and Hearn. Led by their composure, the Wildcats didn’t allow Illinois to chip away at the lead, even after a couple careless turnovers.
Illinois coach John Groce began intentionally fouling with more than four minutes to go with hopes that Northwestern’s recent free-throw struggles would continue, but the ‘Cats went 18-of-20 from the line down the stretch to ice the win.
The importance of this win cannot be understated, as the struggling Wildcat offense found its groove in a big way. The Wildcats are now 5-1 in road and neutral site games.
Northwestern will try to relay the confidence into a home matchup on Sunday against the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers, who are coming off a loss to Wisconsin.
Rankings (1-10, 10 being best)
Dave Sobolewski, 7.5: The point guard controlled the offense as usual, driving and kicking to open teammates beyond the arc. He had three turnovers, but it becomes very clear how important he is to this team after he fouls out.
Reggie Hearn, 8.5: The Wildcats’ leading scorer came up big, hitting three long balls and going 9-of-10 from the line to help seal the victory. He also did a good job when guarding Paul, forcing him to shoot jumpers instead of letting him get to the rim.
Kale Abrahamson, 5: The freshman only played 14 minutes and was largely ineffective, but his crafty backdoor cut and layup extended the Wildcats’ first half lead to 34-17.
Jared Swopshire, 8.5: The senior leader played as tough and aggressive as he has all year, leading the ‘Cats with six rebounds.. He continuously attacked the basket, putting the Illini defense on its heels, and he also stepped back for two three-pointers.
Alex Olah, 4.5: It was another rough day for Olah. He was bullied in the post, giving up deep post position without trying to get in front. He hedged a ball screen and kept Paul out of the lane in the first half, but his help defense was otherwise sub-par.
Bench, 8: Marcotullio had some trouble handling the pressure in the second half, but he had a very good night shooting the ball with 12 points and was tough on the boards. Redshirt freshman Mike Turner, who fouled out in just 15 minutes of action, gave the ‘Cats some good minutes on defense in the first half, grabbing two steals. However, he was a non-factor on the boards. Tre Demps protected the ball, grabbed four rebounds, knocked down some crucial free throws, and left with a red badge of courage on the back of his head.