So much that had eluded Illinois was found at Northwestern.
The Illini earned their first victory on the road in the Big Ten. They found their shooting touch. They closed out a game.
The 68-61 triumph victory Tuesday night at Northwestern was so monumental for the Illini that coach John Groce couldn’t recall a better all-around game his team had played this season.
“I’m trying to pretend I’m driving a car with no rear-view mirror,” he said.
The outlooks for the remainder of the season are murky for both Northwestern and Illinois.
It’s hard to consider these teams rivals this season given Northwestern’s attempted march toward a first NCAA tournament appearance and Illinois’ apparent route to a fourth-straight tournament miss.
But the Illini (14-11, 4-8 Big Ten) put a dent in Northwestern’s resume as the Wildcats (18-6, 7-4) dropped their second straight game without leading scorer Scottie Lindsey, who is out with mononucleosis. As fans filtered out of Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston some Illinois fans chanted their I-L-L, I-N-I cheer.
“We have to keep playing,” said Northwestern coach Chris Collins, who still has the Big Ten’s big three of Wisconsin, Purdue and Maryland left on the schedule. “We have a lot of basketball left.”
The Wildcats showed their vulnerability without Lindsey. Illinois’ bench outscored Northwestern’s 30-13 and extra pressure was put on Bryant McIntosh (game-high 21 points) to score.
Northwestern shot only 33.9 percent for the game and finished the game on a 3 minute, 31 second stretch without a field goal, turning the ball over three times and missing their final four shots.
The Illini entered the game ranked ninth in the Big Ten with a 45.1 shooting percentage and had some rough patches before shooting at 58.3 percent clip in the second half.
Illini wing Malcolm Hill scored all 14 of his points after halftime, while point guard Te’Jon Lucas added 11 points and six assists.
Northwestern’s Vic Law hit a 3-pointer from the wing to provide a 59-56 lead with 3:31 left. But Illini forward Michael Finke was left open about a minute later to tie the game with his own 3-pointer.
Two McIntosh free throws tied the game again 61-61 before a Lucas layup with 1:37 left provided a 63-61 lead. After a McIntosh turnover, Finke hit a jump shot with 1:09 to play for a four-point lead. A Kipper Nichols free throw and two more from Hill secured the Illini victory.
Illinois’ defense held a third-straight opponent to less than 41 percent shooting, but it was the long-awaited offense that made the difference.
“I have belief in these guys that they’re going to make a higher percentage than what they made last week,” Groce said. “Fortunately, for us, that’s what happened.”
