Illini Come Back, Then Hold Off Northwestern Wildcats, Get Crucial Road Win

Losing streaks aren't really an option in the Big Ten. Especially for a team like the Illini who absolutely, without question need to beat up on the lower tier conference teams. That means two wins against Northwestern, two against Nebraska, and beat your one offs against Penn State and Iowa. This is the bare minimum for an Illini post season trip. At one point, it looked as thought the Illini would take a ten point deficit to half time, and an avalanche of angst and hand wringing would descend on Champaign-Urbana.

Then just that quickly, we had a Myke Henry drained three pointer, a Meyers Leonard steal and a Meyers Leonard thunder dunk, and Illinois went to the break trailing by just five. This run would continue into the second half, with an 11-3 run in the first eight minutes of the half. This was where Illinois looked its best. It used its size and speed to push the tempo and get open shots in transition.

Playing without starting point guard Sam Maniscalco, whose ankle was finally just too much to play through, Illinois often showed hesitation in the half court offense but completely in their element when they were out and moving in transition. Joe Bertrand too looked confident again, taking the ball himself and driving the lane, making some great runners in the lane. Bertrand finished with 10 points and 8 boards in his very stout 32 minutes. Bertrand has taken the floor as a starter now as a fourth guard twice, and is actually looking pretty decent as a forward. The kid can play and he is taking full advantage of the opportunity he has earned.

The second ten minutes of the game were the complete opposite, scoring just 11 points from then on out, and only four of those were from field goals. The offense was slowed partly by a backed off NU defense and Illinois was unable to use their speed in the open court to generate easy baskets. It was also slowed by the fact that Illinois was no longer pulling down the boards they had been and many more second chances were given to the 'Cats. (Northwestern had nine offensive rebounds.)

Meyers Leonard was back in double figures tonight, with 12 points and 8 boards, but Illinois guards still had trouble making the passes to feed Meyers in the paint. The new plan to guard the big man is to swarm him before he even gets the ball, making an entry pass even more difficult to make. That leaves shooters open, but most of the time that guard left alone was Joe Bertrand, and this is NU daring him to shoot them out of that defense.

The last 10 minutes were a grinding stretch, where both teams struggled to score. Brandon Paul may have had trouble holding onto the ball again tonight, (6 turnovers) but his defensive job against John Shurna in the second half was masterful. Shurna was white hot in the first period, and scored 17 points, leaving defenders in his wake. In the second half? Three points, only coming from a very late desperation three. BP is like this team in a lot of ways. He can go off for spurts at both ends of the court, but its rare to see a complete dominating game.

With 1:30 to go, Illinois had a 7 point lead and Brandon Paul was at the line to shoot a 1-1. Paul missed the front end, and quickly down on the other end, Alex Marcotullio sank a three ( that he traveled to get). A missed Meyers shot, a sudden John Shurna three pointer, and just like that Illinois led by just one.

Meyers then goes one and one from the line, Northwestern gets a bucket, and the game is suddenly tied. With the snap of your fingers and only about a minute off the clock to do so, a possible nine point Illinois lead turned into a tie.

Somehow, Myke Henry ended up at the line, to shoot two, with six seconds left on the clock, hitting the first one, Illinois prepared for a desperation drive (ala Talor Battle) a missed Henry freethrow, and a drive by Drew Crawford that could have won the game. But there would be no Northwestern heroics. Just Meyers Leonard, swatting away Crawford's runner like he was playing at the ARC.

Remember that folks. Meyers is very literally the difference on this team. He is the team's best passer, the best consistent offensive threat, and the player most likely to take over. Defenses plan their entire strategy around him, and he cannot by guarded by just one man. Enjoy him while you can folks.

And enjoy this road win folks. Because it was not optional for this season to be successful. Give this team credit, they may be close, but Illinois has not dropped a single game to a bad team. And that gives you more breathing room when facing the real core of this Big Ten. We can relax now, for the time being, until rolling into Lincoln on Saturday.