Illinois Vs. Northwestern Game Thread

I'm sitting in a packed Welsh-Ryan Arena for tonight's match up between The Fighting Illini and in state rival Northwestern. If you haven't been to Welsh-Ryan in a while, this is no longer the easiest place to win in the Big Ten... If the crowd shows up like it has tonight, this "high school" gym can really get rocking. The fans a split at about 65% to 35% in favor of the Purple... a bit different from last year when the Illini may have had over 50% of the fans in Evanston.

Nash hits a put back and even a Brandon Paul three pointer doesn't seem to make this one look any better... This will be a tough loss after what started as a good basketball game.

63-56 Northwestern, under 2 to play.

D.J. Richardson just lost his head and let the shot clock run out... then Shurna hits a three... this game has gone downhill in a hurry.

The Illini are down 4 with under three minutes left, and it's crunch time. Weber's team came into this game with most casual fans not giving Northwestern a chance. A loss here is going to hurt in the public eye, it will also drop the Illini from 4-0 to 4-3 in the Big Ten in a matter of three games...

56-54 Northwestern with 3:45 left.

Nash hits a three, and the Wildcats go up by one.

The Wildcats are hitting their second wind, and the pace is back where it was to begin the game. Illinois is having a hard time getting the ball inside.

51-44 Illinois with 7:30 left in the game.

The Illini need to keep up the pace. They are currently out hustling the Wildcats and that doesn't happen often against a team such as this that relies on its hustle to make up for the lack of athleticism.

D.J. Richardson just drove the baseline and finished with a nice reverse lay-up... good move by the freshman, and I think it's something Weber has expected out of the two freshman guards.

The halftime stats for today's game look nothing like the previous meeting. Last time out, Tisdale and Davis combined for 50+ points in the win... today they have 4 after 20 minutes.

Bill Cole just drove the lane and finished nicely in the paint... good to see the smart play leading up to the shot as well. A good pump fake opened up the lane.

Northwestern has energy, but it's nothing like the first half... The crowd is a little quieter, the pace is a little bit slower, and the defense isn't getting the loose balls like it was the first five minutes. 39-41 Illinois with 17 left.

McCamey at the line with a chance to make this a three point game going into the half... nails them both. 4 seconds left, and the Wildcats come away empty. 39-36 Illinois at the half.

Nash just got away with a pretty blatant travel and then nailed a three.

37-33 Illinois with 3 left in the first half. The pace has been more geared to the Illini as they are on their way to having more than half of their average points at the break.

Demetri McCamey just ran his own 3 on 1... fake the pass and take it yourself.

The score is tied at 15 with 10 left as the Illini have begun to find their stroke. D.J. hits a three, and the Illini have their first lead of the game.

Keller just got the first big Illini play after a baseline dunk.

Weber had made some changes to the line up presumably in hopes of finding some guys who want to be on the floor more. Paul, Keller, Richardson, Griffey, and McCamey are on the floor.

13-6 Northwestern with 12:44 left in the first half.

Northwestern is playing twice as hard as the Illini but even more than that, the crowd is feeding the Purple... It's pretty loud in here!

The first Illini point come 3:30 into the action.

The Illini are shooting a terrible percentage to start the game... try zero after 3 minutes.

The Illini are having a tough time finding a rhythm on offense. Twice now the Illini have turned the ball over on traveling while a player failed to make the first move. The hesitation hasn't been good.

The Wildcats are coming out shooting again... just not quite as hot... But they are out working us on the glass early.

Last time out, the Wildcats got off to a hot start and drained threes like it was all they knew how to do... Hopefully this time out Carmody's squad won't have the hot touch resulting in 47 three point attempts.