Alex Olah returns to the starting lineup as the Wildcats take on Illinois in a Welsh-Ryan Arena that is about 60 percent orange.
Northwestern-Illinois first half thread
- Thread starter Straus2018
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After Bryant McIntosh made a runner on the Wildcats' first possession, Northwestern missed its next five shots and trails Illinois 6-2 at the first media timeout. The Illini made up for missing its first four shots--all of which were open jumpers--by hitting back to contested 3s
Illinois has done all of its damage from beyond the arc (3-for-7 from 3, 0-for-10 from 2) as it carries a 9-6 lead into the under-12 timeout. As is becoming routine, Northwestern's offense comes out flat, shooting 30 percent from the field and 0-for-4 from deep to go along with four turnovers.
Illinois has gotten one good look at the rim, but otherwise everything they run on offense has resulted in a perimeter shot. Scottie Lindsey (a 3, a layup and an assist) and Gavin Skelly (2 assists and a dunk) have given Northwestern some energy off the bench, and a couple of Alex Olah and-ones (he missed both free throws) have Northwestern within one with six and a half to go
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Outside of 2 blown assignments (one resulted in a dunk, another in a missed layup), Northwestern has forced Illinois into shooting only jumpers. Northwestern's D has been solid, drawing two charges, forcing six turnovers and holding Illinois to 2-for-12 shooting inside the arc. The Wildcats lead 19-16 at the under-4 behind eight from Scottie Lindsey and four points and three assists from BMac
For the second straight game, Dererk Pardon picks up his third foul before halftime. Northwestern's defense at the rim has been considerably better with Olah or van Zegeren in at center
A quick 7-0 run puts Illinois back in front 23-19 and gets Chris Collins off the bench with a minute remaining
BMac finds Olah cutting to the rim for his fourth assist to trim the lead to 23-21 heading into the intermission. The Wildcats committed 10 first half turnovers, compared to seven for the visitors, although none of them were a result of the press Illinois occasionally used. Northwestern's starting lineup scored only 11 points (six from Olah, four from BMac), while Lindsey has eight of the bench's 10 points including the team's only two 3s
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