CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Kylan Boswell led the way for No. 17 Illinois with a strong performance, contributing 17 points and six rebounds in the team’s 83-74 victory against Northwestern on Sunday.
Morez Johnson Jr. also played a significant role for the Illini, scoring 15 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and blocking three shots. Other key contributors included Ben Humrichous with 14 points, Kasparas Jakucionis who achieved a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, and Jake Davis who chipped in another 11 points off the bench. With this win, Illinois stands at 14-6 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten.
On the opposing side, Northwestern had Nick Martinelli and Jalen Leach each scoring 17 points, although the team fell behind, trailing 43-21 by halftime. Ty Berry added 10 points for the Wildcats, who are now 12-8 and 3-6 in conference play.
Illinois, known as the second-best rebounding team in the nation, showcased their dominance on the boards by out-rebounding Northwestern 50-27, despite being without their leading rebounder Tomislav Ivisic, who missed the game due to illness. The Illini’s effort included collecting 21 offensive rebounds.
Takeaways from the game showed that Illinois was eager to snap a two-game home losing streak, which would have marked their first three consecutive losses at home since 2017. However, they did struggle after halftime, getting outscored 53-40 and giving the ball away 13 times, leading to 24 points for Northwestern.
For Northwestern, the combined scoring prowess of Martinelli and Brooks Barnhizer has been a highlight in their Big Ten campaign, averaging 37 points per game. However, against Illinois, they managed only 20 points total, with Martinelli shooting 7 of 19 and Barnhizer struggling with a mere 1 of 7 shooting performance after suffering a hard fall in the previous game.
A key moment in the game came early when Illinois embarked on a 15-0 run to turn a 5-5 tie into a commanding 20-5 lead, during which Northwestern was scoreless for over five minutes.
A notable statistic is that Northwestern has not won a game in Champaign since 2013, now on a nine-game losing streak at this location.
Looking ahead, Illinois will face Nebraska on Thursday, while Northwestern is set to host Rutgers on Wednesday.
