Illinois Vs. Northwestern

So here we are. The start of the Big Ten season comes with a little added importance this year as Northwestern comes to town ranked in the top 25. At 10-1, this Wildcat team is looking to make a statement with a road win over a team that is usually considered the favorite in basketball.

The Illini Win this one 89-83.

It looks like the Illini are going to win this one, but what a way to open the Big Ten... You have to hand it to the guys in Purple, they played a great game.

A foul on John Shurna has put Cole on the line with 24 left. After making 1-2, it's a 87-83 game.

The Wildcats are 16-43 from beyond the arc, let's see if they go for two here and foul, or if they try to tie it up right away.

Northwestern made a free throw and then a pass thrown away gave the ball right back. What looked like a nice three point lead with 40 left and the ball has turned into time to really bare down and play some game winning defense.

D.J. Richardson just got fouled on a three point attempt for the second time in the game, and this one comes with 1 minute left. After hitting 2 of 3, the score is 86-82.

Mike Davis gave us his best Tisdale impression as he nails the hook shot. 84-80 with 1:40 left.

82-80 Illinois with 2:15 left.

Tisdale now has 31 points after two free throws, he's been so clutch down the line... And as I type this, the Junior walks off the court with his fifth foul. The crowd gives him a huge ovation after a 31 and 11 effort.

A missed three by Cole turned into a lay-up for Tisdale... but the Wildcats answered back with a quick three.

Mike Davis scores on the Illini's opening possession. 76-74.


Regulation just came to an end, and the score is all tied up at 74. The Illini never got a shot up on the final possession and once again looked lost. I think the momentum is with the Illini, but with Tisdale holding 4 fouls, it will be interesting to see how the coaches use him here to begin the overtime.

The Illini came out not looking too sure of what was going on. The inbounds pass came to Mike Davis who was left in the backcourt by Richardson and McCamey... Weber calls another timeout and with 7.7 seconds on the clock, the Illini will try it once more.

15.4 seconds left now, and the score is again tied after a tip in by the Wildcats. Full Time out Illini who can hold for the final shot here... Let's not have a Utah here...

Tisdale shooting two with 30 seconds left and the families of the Northwestern players are making some noise from behind the bench... this is a nail biter. The first is good, and so is the second... 74-72 Illinois.

50 seconds left and the Illini lead by 2 before John Shurna drives and ties it up.

Tisdale and Davis both have double-doubles at this point, Tisdale with 25 points and Davis with 14 boards.

McCamey splits free throws, 70-67.

Tisdale just picked up his fourth foul with 2:30 left in the game. 69-66 Illini with a Northwestern free throw on the way...

Welcome to the loudest Assembly Hall of the season. It hasn't been the best all night, but the PA system played a track of heavy metal paired with the voice of a man screaming "Stand up and Shout!" and the fans obliged... moments later when Tisdale slammed home a dunk with a foul, the place exploded. 69-63 Illinois with 3:30 left in the game.

Bill Cole just made a huge three pointer. There are 4 minutes left, and the Illini are up 67-63.

The crowd was really into this one until a foul was called on Mike Davis during a Shurna three attempt... three free throws later and it's tied at 60.

Mike Davis got a dunk opportunity there and wasn't going to miss a second one... 60-57 Illinois.

With 8 minutes left in the game, the Illini take the lead 58-57 on a pair of Mike Davis free throws.

Northwestern has really started to get chippy with Tisdale down low... A lot of shoving.

The Wildcats have only made 6 shots from 2 point range.

The Illini now have 15 assists, a magic number of sorts as the Illini have hit this number in all 8 wins this year.

Brandon Paul has his first points after a three ball goes in 28 minutes into the game... then he follows it up with another. 56-55 Illini.

D.J. is fouled on a three attempt and makes all 3. 53-50 purple.

Northwestern has shot 13-29 from deep.

A Richardson three brings the lead down to three for Northwestern, but it should be only one after a missed dunk by Davis.

The Assembly Hall's getting loud again. The score sits at 41-47. We are asking for the momentum, but the dominoes just won't fall our way. Northwestern had an in-bounds play with 2 seconds left on the shot clock, so of course they hit a three.

The Illini have had two big chances to score here in the opening minutes of the second half, and anytime we get a good look it needs to drop right now.

D.J. just hasn't had his three point touch to this point tonight.

This has been a shooting clinic by the guys in purple. 11-23 in the first half... It's hard to say much else. The offense has been great when we get the ball down low, but the outside shooting has left fans wanting more. Both John Shurna and Jeremy Nash are on fire with totals of 15 and
12. Something is going to have to be done to get more pressure on the shooters because at this rate, the Wildcats are going lights out. 42-33 Northwestern at the half.

The Wildcats are in a 1-3-1 zone, and it looked to be causing problems, but back to back possessions getting the ball inside have the offense looking a little better.

NW is shooting 9-20 on long balls in the first half, the Illini are 1-5.

This game has been a little hard to gauge. One second the Illini look like they are the better team, but when they are shooting three's this well, it's really hard to get on a run.

22-21 Illinois with 7:30 left in the first half. Bill Cole seems to have found a nice place in this rotation. I still really like the minutes that he gives.

Tisdale is playing big tonight. Every time he gets the ball down low he scores.

16-15 Illinois with 11 left.

NW is shooting a crazy amount of threes. It was fine when they were going in, but now it's getting a little silly.

The crowd is letting the officials know that they aren't pleased with the calls so far. The Illini seem to be getting bumped while the calls are all going the other way.

The Northwestern shooting has cooled off, and the Illini have heated up thanks to Tisdale and Davis.

Mike Tisdale is on fire, and I hope his critics can see how effective the big guy can be when we get him the ball one on one.

14-8 Northwestern leads it with 15 left in the first half.

Northwestern reminds me of an international team... There isn't a lot of athleticism or NBA level skill, but they all play their part and have bought into the team philosophy. When this team is shooting like they are tonight, it is extra important to be smart with the ball when we are on offense.

The Wildcats start this one on fire. Four three point buckets in a row to open the game have them out to an early lead.

The opening possession showed a couple of opportunities to get the ball to Mike Tisdale, but the offense didn't make the pass. Weber was all over the guys, and the next two trips down the court resulted in buckets for the center.