Look first at one Illinois possession late in the first half of Saturday’s game at Northwestern.
It began with James Augustine rebounding a missed free throw and passing to Dee Brown, who casually dribbled past half-court.
Then the ball went like this: To Rich McBride at the top of the arc. To Augustine deep in the left corner. To Brian Randle low on the left block. Back out to Augustine deep in the left corner. Back out to McBride at the top of the arc.
On a weave from McBride to Brown to Chester Frazier to McBride outside the arc on the left wing. To Brown cutting through the circle from the right.
Only after 33 of the 35 seconds on the shot clock had ticked off, did Brown go up and hit a 12-footer from the left wing.
That was symbolic of Illinois’ performance in its 58-47 victory, which can be a difficult task for a team in the throes of growing up. And that is the case with these Illini, who took a step in their climb toward maturity.
They are not yet a picture of maturity. They shot only 36.4 percent from the field and lost their zeal after building a 26-point lead, allowing Northwestern to make the final score look respectable. But through the first 30 minutes as they earned their win, the Illini manifested the patience and poise any team needs to succeed against the Wildcats.
“Northwestern’s a hard nut anytime,” said Illini assistant Jay Price, who had scouted the Wildcats. “Last year we were the No. 1 team in America, and we were up only eight points at halftime. It’s a difficult team to play [with] their style. Coach [Bill] Carmody does such a good job. They just keep you off balance.”
On offense they do that by baiting a defense into overreacting and then dicing it with easy back-door cuts and layups.
“Their offense is so intricate; it’s very polished,” Price said. “If you don’t communicate and aren’t aware of what’s happening, it becomes very difficult to guard.”
But the Illini ignored the lures and guarded avidly in the first 30 minutes. They held Vedran Vukusic, the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 20.9 points per game, to a single basket and limited the Wildcats to 35.4 percent shooting.
On defense, the Wildcats disrupt opponents with their variety of zones, which demands an opponent read and react while rejecting the urge to rush.
“You never know if they’re in a switching man-to-man [zone] or a 2-3 [or a 1-3-1],” McBride said. “So it was kind of difficult for us at times. But we just wanted to be patient and move the ball. When you move the ball in zones, you get good shots.”
Brown choreographed the Illini splendidly against those zones. He finished with eight assists and only two turnovers. After going 3-for-22 in Illinois’ first two Big Ten road games, he scored 18 on 6-for-10 shooting.
Later, after his team had frittered away its large lead, Illini coach Bruce Weber said pointedly: “The sad thing is we didn’t finish it. So we leave with a little negative taste rather than a positive taste. We’ve got to decide if we’re going to be special or just going to be OK.”
Illini forward Brian Randle, looking at the minutes when the Illini showed they could be special, said: “For us to be consistent most of the game, stay together and stay composed is good for us. To be able to stay focused was the biggest thing for us.
“Anytime you can go on the road and get a win, it’s a step in the right direction.”
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smyslenski@tribune.com
