Illinois spoils No. 21 Northwestern's debut as ranked team
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 [February 24, 2023]
Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 of his 26 points in the second
half Thursday night as Illinois rallied from an 18-point halftime
deficit to stop No. 21 Northwestern 66-62 in a Big Ten Conference
game in Champaign, Ill.
Shannon drove for a layup with 1:16 left to snap a 61-61 tie, then
sealed the outcome by making two foul shots with 2.7 seconds
remaining.
Matthew Mayer added 14 points, all in the second half, as the
Fighting Illini (19-9, 10-7 Big Ten) avenged a January loss to the
Wildcats and stayed alive for a double-bye in next month's
conference tournament.
Boo Buie starred in defeat for Northwestern (20-8, 11-6) with a
game-high 35 points, canning 6 of 11 from the 3-point arc. Brooks
Barnhizer scored 11.
Playing their first game as a ranked team this season, the Wildcats
led 54-39 after Barnhizer hit a jumper with 10:21 left in the game,
but they were outscored 27-8 the rest of the way.
Northwestern controlled most of the first half behind Buie, 3-point
shooting and great defense. Buie scored eight points in the first
5:08 as the Wildcats established a 14-6 lead.
Illinois rattled off eight straight points to tie the game on a
Sencire Harris jumper at the 11:33 mark, but Northwestern dominated
the half's remainder as Buie made one shot after another.
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Feb 23, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA;
Northwestern Wildcats guard Brooks Barnhizer (13) shoots the ball
between Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jayden Epps (3) and Ty
Rodgers (20) during the second half at State Farm Center. Mandatory
Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Buie canned consecutive 3-pointers in a 10-1 run
that made it 24-15, then closed the half with a personal 8-0 spurt
over the final 3:16. His 3-pointer with 52 seconds left gave the
Wildcats a 37-19 halftime lead.
--Field Level Media
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