Illinois stymies Northwestern

[February 22, 2017]  Northwestern failed in its first attempt to set a school record for wins in a season, falling 66-50 to Illinois in a Big Ten game on Tuesday night at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

Illinois held the Wildcats to one field goal in the final 10:27. Northwestern finished with season lows for points and field-goal percentage (32.1).

Illinois won back-to-back regular-season games against Big Ten opponents for the first time since defeating Northwestern and Nebraska on Feb. 28 and March 4, 2015.

Senior swingman Malcolm Hill delivered a game-high 18 points and five assists to help Illinois (16-12, 6-9) sweep the season series against Northwestern (20-8, 9-6).

Sophomore forward Leron Black contributed 11 points and eight rebounds and senior center Maverick Morgan notched nine points and 10 rebounds for the Illini.

Junior point guard Bryant McIntosh paced the Wildcats with 16 points, but junior forward Scottie Lindsey (1 of 11 from the field) and sophomore forward Vic Law (0 of 4) had five points in 48 minutes. They were combining for 28.2 points per game.

Northwestern trailed just 33-32 at halftime despite getting just two points from Lindsey and Law, who went scoreless in six minutes as he picked up his third foul with 8:27 left in the half.

McIntosh picked up the slack as his frequent slashes to the hoop led to 12 first-half points. He made a jumper with 10:27 left to pull the Wildcats within 45-42, but the visitors didn't produce another field goal until senior guard Nate Taphorn drilled a 3-pointer with 1:09 left to make it 64-50. Northwestern missed 12 consecutive shots during that stretch.

Fighting Illini forward Michael Finke (43) and guard Malcolm Hill (21) box out Northwestern Wildcats forward Gavin Skelly (44) during the second half at State Farm Center.Illinois beat Northwestern 66 to 50. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

Not only did the Wildcats miss those shots down the stretch, they grabbed just one offensive rebound in 10 minutes as the Illini built its 42-30 rebounding edge.

Illinois sophomore guard Jalen Coleman-Lands, the team's No. 3 scorer at 8.4 points per game, rolled his left ankle four minutes into the game and did not return. Senior guard Tracy Abrams hit two 3-pointers at important times.

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