Both Illinois men’s and women’s basketball teams took to the court in separate parts of the country on Wednesday.
Men’s Basketball continues its win streak against Northwestern
No. 5 Illinois (20-3, 11-1) dominated Northwestern (10-13, 2-10) in their 84 to 44 win to extend their win streak to 12 in a row. Illinois continued its win streak against Northwestern and left the Wildcats still searching for their first win in State Farm Center.
In the first half, Illinois gained control of the game from the jump. Illinois could not miss from deep. Illinois made 11 three-pointers in the first half, with freshman point guard Keaton Wagler beating the halftime buzzer with a half-court shot. Wagler led the team with 10 points, followed by freshman forward David Mirkovic with nine points, and could not miss from the three point arch.
After halftime, the Illini did not let anything change as they continued to grow their lead. At one point, Illinois led by 49 points in the game, as the three-point shot continued to fall. Five players for the Illini ended the game with double-digit points, and four players with three or more three-pointers made. Junior guard Andre Stojakovic led the Illini with 17 points, and Illinois made a total of 17 three-pointers, which is the second most this season.
Illinois will travel to Michigan and take on No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday at 7 pm.
Women’s Basketball comeback falls short in Oregon.
The Illini (16-7, 6-6) were unable to pick up back-to-back wins on the west coast against the Oregon Ducks (18-7, 6-6), losing 73 to 76. This gave Illinois their 2nd loss against an unranked opponent this season.
Illinois started the game off slowly from the tip-off, as they ended up down 12 points in the middle of the first quarter. But after giving up another eight points in a row to the Ducks, the Illini quickly found themselves entering halftime down by 21 points. Illinois could not make shots in the first half, only shooting 34.6% from the field. This gave Oregon the window of opportunity to grow its lead behind senior forward Mia Jacobs, who scored 12 points in the first half. Illinois did not have a single player score in double digits heading into halftime.
Coming out of halftime, Illinois did not let Oregon get the easy win as they climbed back into the game, scoring 21 straight points in the third quarter alone to tie the game right before going into the final quarter of the game. Illinois gained an eight-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. As Illinois tried to close the game out, Oregon forced Illinois to make mistakes and get the game-winning layup. Illinois tried to respond, but Oregon shut down Illinois’ scoring options and ended their chances at a comeback win.
Illinois sophomore forward Berry Wallace led the team with 19 points, followed by freshman guard Destiny Jackson with 13 points.
Illinois will host the University of Southern California on Sunday at 12 pm. The Illini are looking to sell out State Farm Center for the first time to celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day.