Illinois basketball could have easily had a letdown game on Wednesday night, but we went to the complete opposite end of the spectrum.
This was one of the most dominating games I have ever seen the Illini play. Northwestern might have thought they were going to compete after having a 7-5 lead, but after that point, the entire game changed.
Illinois suffocated the Wildcats with the three-pointer. We were hitting nearly every shot early, and Northwestern didn’t know what to do. It was like quicksand. The Wildcats kept sinking and sinking, no matter how hard they tried. That dominating start by Illinois led to a 28-point halftime lead and an 84-44 win over Northwestern.
Here are five incredible observations from the Illinois basketball win over Northwestern
1. Illinois didn’t mess around against Northwestern
Historically, Illinois has tended to play with our food when it comes to bad teams. We have let below-average teams stick around and give us a scare toward the end.
On Wednesday night, the Illini didn’t do any of that. In fact, from the jump, Northwestern didn’t have a chance.
The start of the Illinois game was one that fans dream of. Illinois came out firing, and we were hitting nearly every shot. At one point, over halfway through the first half, Ben Humrichous had nine points, which matched Northwestern’s total output at that time.
On top of that, Illinois jumped on the Wildcats and didn’t leave any question marks. After Northwestern had a 7-5 lead, the Illini proceeded to go on a 25-2 run to pretty much put the game away in the first half.
Illinois looked focused the entire night, too. I know there are times when we look a little out of it, but there was clearly a mission to put Northwestern away early, and it worked to perfection. This was a masterclass in not messing around with inferior opponents.
2. This was one of the best Illini defensive performances ever
The start of the game was electric, as Illinois hit numerous three-pointers and looked great. But I also want to point out the insane defensive effort by the Orange and Blue.
To hold any team in college basketball to just 44 points is a wild feat, but it is even more impressive that it was against another Big Ten opponent.
It is not like Northwestern is this awful offensive team. They just put up 68 points against Illinois less than a month ago. The Wildcats also average 75.2 points per game this season.
What Illinois did on Wednesday night was take Northwestern’s hope. What little glimmer of hope they had entering the game was immediately squashed, as the Illini tore through their offense.
Northwestern didn’t have a single double-digit scorer, which I am not sure I have ever seen in my lifetime. Their best player, Nick Martinelli, finished with four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field and had two rebounds and one assist.
The four points scored by Martinelli were tied with the fewest points he has scored in a game when playing at least 20 minutes. It was also the lowest point total from Martinelli in almost two years, as the last time he scored four points in a game was March 22, 2024, in the NCAA tournament.
Northwestern finished the trashing shooting 29% from the field and going 4-of-25, 16%, from three-point range. It was an absolute dismantling by the Illini and one that will be a great confidence booster heading into a tough Michigan State tilt.
3. Despite the blowout, Illinois didn’t get sloppy
Illinois got off to a massive first-half lead. Going up 47-19 after a Keaton Wagler half-court shot is something that fans usually just dream of.
With that being said, Illinois leading by 28 points in the first 20 minutes usually gives college teams a license to get a little sloppy. With the game in hand, teams can rest on their athletic ability or talent to coast through the final 20 minutes of action.
That didn’t happen with the Illini, though. I was pleased with how focused we were throughout the entire game. We didn’t get sloppy with the basketball.
Illinois only had 11 turnovers in the game, and two of those came with the deep bench guys seeing action. The biggest turnover problem was Tomislav Ivisic, and he only had four turnovers in the game.
I was happy that Illinois didn’t get lazy in the second half defensively either. In the past, we could have easily given up 30 or more points in the second half, knowing that Northwestern wouldn’t have a chance at coming back. Instead, Illinois continued to put the clamps down and only gave up 25 points in the final frame.
This was an all-around great game from start to finish. Illinois stayed focused and remained crisp throughout, and that shows how well this team is playing together.
4. It was nice to see Ben Humrichous gain form
No Illinois fan can complain about what we saw on Wednesday night. This was total destruction, and I believe the Illini got some positive momentum out of the victory.
A big night came from Humrichous. He is someone who can have up and down games, and I needed to see him look good after a horrendous outing against Nebraska. Humrichous failed to score in 18 minutes against the Cornhuskers and was 0-of-6 from three-point range.
Against Northwestern, it was a completely different story. Humrichous started on fire after coming into the game a few minutes into the first half. He made three three-pointers right off the bat, which helped boost Illinois’ lead to double-digits. As I mentioned earlier, he was at one time tied with Northwestern deep into the first half at 9-9.
I loved what I saw out of Humrichous defensively, too. He looked good and kept in front of his man. His length really causes problems, as he can guard multiple positions.
Humrichous needed a confidence booster. Northwestern was that booster on Wednesday night. He had a huge game of 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. What a weapon off the bench.
5. The rebounding margin is where it needed to be
I have harped on this numerous times this season, but Illinois has a tendency to let smaller teams compete in the rebounding department.
Illinois is one of the best rebounding teams in the country. We average 41.6 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 9 in the nation. Northwestern only averages 32.6 rebounds per game, which ranks No. 284 in the country.
This needed to be a dominating rebounding performance. Illinois is a bigger and better team, and we needed to show it. On Wednesday night, the Illini did just that.
Illinois was a force on the boards. We pulled down a total of 50 rebounds against the Wildcats. That is a massive number. It is actually the third-most rebounds Illinois has had this season.
On top of the massive amounts of rebounds by the Illini, Northwestern was only able to grab 23 rebounds. That is a +27 rebounding margin for Illinois. The last time we have had that big of a margin against a Big Ten team was December 2, 2023, against Rutgers, when the Illini had a +28 rebounding margin.
The icing on the cake is the fact that it was a team rebounding effort. Five different Illinois players had at least seven rebounds, which includes both Humrichous and Zvonimir Ivisic off the bench with seven rebounds each.
Illinois is a massive team. We need to win the rebounding margin every game. Northwestern felt the wrath of the Illini's size on Wednesday night.