After Northwestern made yet another 3-pointer, Illinois coach Brad Underwood called a first-half timeout. He inched close to several players’ faces and screamed: “What are you doing?”
After throwing the ball away and missing shots in a lifeless first half, the Illini had an answer for Underwood in the second half to overcome a 15-point deficit for an 81-56 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston.
Illinois outscored Northwestern 53-13 after halftime, begging the question of which was more remarkable: the Illini’s fire or the Wildcats’ frigidity?
The Illini (9-3, 5-1 Big Ten) shot 59.4% in the second half while the Wildcats (6-4, 3-3) mustered only 8.3%.
After a tepid first half, center Kofi Cockburn had 13 of his game-high 18 points and 10 of his game-high 12 rebounds coming in a ferocious second-half performance.
Northwestern’s second basket of the second half came with 7 minutes, 33 seconds left. The Wildcats started the half 1 of 14, turning the ball over eight times in that span and injecting life into Illinois with each careless miscue.
This could have been a valuable win for the Wildcats, who needed a jolt after a 3-0 Big Ten start gave way to a skid that has reached three consecutive losses.
Illinois started the second half with an 8-0 run. The Illini stuttered for a moment, missing five straight shots — and leaving an opening for Northwestern.
But the Wildcats couldn’t regroup.
The first half was a disaster for Illinois, seemingly getting worse every minute.
The Illini didn’t sink a shot in the final 5:08 seconds of the half and trailed 43-28 at the break. They turned it over 11 times and shot only 23% while struggling against Northwestern’s zone.
Ayo Dosunmu (15 points, six assists) played only 11 minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls. Cockburn had a quiet half, too, as Northwestern muscled its way to a rebounding advantage.
Northwestern made five first-half 3-pointers and had 11 assists on 16 field goals.
They used a 12-0 run toward the end of the first half to build a significant — but ultimately not insurmountable — lead.
