Illini Men Snap Losing Streak At Northwestern
Illinois guard Malcolm Hill (21) is defended by Northwestern forward Vic Law (4) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, in Evanston, Ill. Illinois won 68-61. David Banks / AP
The Illini men’s basketball team ended a three-game losing skid last night in Evanston with a 68-61 win over the Northwestern Wildcats.
Four Illini scored in double figures, led by Malcolm Hill, whose 14 points all came in the second half.
Groce praised his team for remaining composed despite a slow start to the game.
"It would have been easy if you feel like you're six minutes into the game, and I think we had maybe four point," Groce said, "but our defense continued to work, and we competed on the glass. That gave us a chance to hang around until we started making shots.
Illinois center Maverick Morgan (22) dunks against Northwestern during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, in Evanston, Ill.
Bryant McIntosh led Northwestern with 21 points. The Wildcats were without leading scorer Scottie Lindsey … who was out with mononucleosis.
Maverick Morgan, Michael Finke and Te’Jon Lucas all scored 11 points for Illinois, with Kipper Nichols adding nine. Malcolm Hill led the team with nine rebounds, and Lucas dished a game-high six assists.
Lucas said the team finally put together a full game.
"We haven't been happy with how we've been playing," Lucas said. "We knew we had to play 40 minutes together and tough, and that's what we did tonight."
Illinois improves to 4-8 in the Big Ten, 14-11 overall. Northwestern is 18-6 overall, 7-4 in the conference.
The Illini will host Penn State on Saturday.