In recent years, the Northwestern-Illinois rivalry has been described as contentious. The two teams have split their season series over the past three years, and NU fans vividly remember the ‘Cats’ memorable triumph over the Fighting Illini last season at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Northwestern’s demoralizing 84-44 loss to No. 5 Illinois not only broke that trend by marking Illinois’ season sweep of the Wildcats, but it also goes down in the history books as one of the greatest routs in this storied 100-plus-year rivalry.
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It was also one of the worst losses under head coach Chris Collins, who gave a blunt assessment of Wednesday night’s performance.
“They are a vastly superior team to us,” Collins said. “They have better players, they are better coached, they are just a better team than us this year.”
Northwestern’s stagnant offense played a big role in the blowout. Collins said his team “lacked offensive authority” by shooting just 29 percent from the field and an atrocious 4-of-25 from deep. Northwestern only went to the line twice in the entire game, and one of them was due to a self-inflicted technical foul by Illinois.
“Just one of those nights where we couldn’t win anything,” Collins said. “So when that happens, it will be, it will be a final score like you saw.”
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A noisy environment at State Farm Arena certainly posed challenges for a young ‘Cats team. Illinois came out swinging with a powerful offense and aggressive play on the glass, and NU was catching up from the start. A 24-4 run by Illinois, plus the ‘Cats starting the first half 5 of 28 from the field and scoring just one bucket in over 10 minutes, dug a big hole in Northwestern early.
When playing a highly touted opponent like Illinois, it’s essential to set a strong tone from the start. Collins said some of his younger players are playing with more hesitation after struggling to score in the opening minutes, contributing to a stagnant offense that hasn’t improved as the game has gone on. He recalled how freshman Tyler Kropp missed a layup early in the game and how it seemed to affect his play for the rest of the night.
“For a freshman like him, playing in this building, if you make that layup, it might be a different story confidence-wise,” Collins said.
It was also a down night for Nick Martinelli, who entered this game as the nation’s leading scorer but fell to fifth after scoring just four points on 2-of-10 shooting. It was the first game since Nov. 21 in which Martinelli failed to reach double figures, as the Illinois defense used its significant size advantage to stifle him inside and force the senior into tougher shots.
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After months of running Northwestern’s offense, Collins noted how Martinelli was becoming increasingly tired, both physically and mentally. Since the game against Washington, he noticed that Martinelli no longer had his legs and that he was particularly exhausted. Collins believes this provides an opportunity for younger players to take some of the burden off the Wildcat star.
“It happens, given how he has to carry us around every night,” Collins said. “His teammates have to help him. They have to give him energy. They have to step up and give him some production so he can get his legs back.”
Much credit must be given to Illinois. Despite the Cats’ struggles grabbing rebounds and making stops, Illinois’ shooting from the perimeter was incredible: 17 made threes at a rate of 45 percent. The scoring distribution was also excellent, as five Fighting Illini hit more than three shots from deep.
When asked about his team’s score, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood also spoke blunt words.
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“It was a night where we made some shots,” Underwood said.
This quote reflects the pure normalcy of this kind of play coming from Illinois. What was fascinating for Northwestern only met a standard for the Fighting Illini.
Many of the issues on display Wednesday have defined Northwestern’s season. The Wildcats rallied 50-23, as the offense continued its remarkable ability to limit turnovers, committing just one in the entire game. Yet the most glaring takeaway was this: Northwestern’s roster, as currently constructed, is not good enough to compete with the nation’s elite.
“Over the last three years we’ve had some really good teams, but right now we’re struggling,” Collins said. “We’re playing a lot of young kids who aren’t really ready for this level right now. And sometimes you have to take a few chunks and go through them to figure things out.”
