Illinois Basketball: 4 keys for the Illini to beat the Northwestern Wildcats

Illinois basketball is back in action on Tuesday night as they welcome in the Wildcats of Northwestern.

The first game between the two teams was a thriller as the Illini made a second half push for the ages. Illinois shouldn’t have nearly as much trouble this time around, though. After a scare on Friday against Nebraska, the Illini should be wide awake and ready to make a postseason push.

Here are four keys for the Illini to beat the Northwestern Wildcats.

1. Don’t spot Northwestern a 15-point halftime lead

I feel like this is kind of an obvious one, but it isn’t the first time it has happened this season. Illinois looked terrible in the first half of the first game against Northwestern.

This time around, it might be best to not spot the Wildcats a 15-point halftime lead. When Illinois can manage to get off to a start that doesn’t put them in a big hole, they tend to win games more often, obviously.

There have only been two times the Illini have dug themselves into a double-digital hole at halftime. The first Northwestern game was the second time, and that ended up being a win because of a tremendous second half.

Ohio State was the other game. Illinois was also down 15 points at halftime in that game. While the Illini managed to claw back to make it competitive, the game still ended up being a loss for the Orange and Blue. We can’t give good teams that many points.

Illinois needs to come out of the gates strong against Northwestern on Tuesday. We need to start getting used to playing well in the first half because, once we get into the NCAA tournament, we can’t sleepwalk through a half of basketball. That usually means elimination.