Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win over Northwestern

2. Despite bad shooting, Matthew Mayer found a way

I love what Matthew Mayer does for the Illinois basketball team. His ability to step back and knock down three-pointers is special.

Mayer is a tremendous defensive player as well. His length and shot-blocking ability is something that is going to help the program in every game. But, sometimes, Mayer has bad shooting nights.

Against Northwestern on Thursday night, Mayer was ice-cold from the field in the first half. He was 0-5 from the field and 0-4 from three-point range. He also failed to hit both of the free throw attempts in the first half, so Mayer would finish with zero points.

Despite Mayer’s bad start to the night, he was able to be effective in more than one area of the court. While not making a single bucket in the first half, Mayer would still have three rebounds, two blocks, and one assists in the first 20 minutes of action.

Per usual, shooters shoot. Mayer came out in the second half and would go 2-of-4 from the field and 2-of-3 from three-point range. He would also go a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.

I love that Mayer doesn’t hang his head when the chips are down. This kid fights through bad shooting halves and comes out on the other side even better. Mayer would finish the Northwestern game with 14 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and two assists. His mentality was huge for the Orange and Blue.