Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Illinois
Northwestern Falls To Top-Ranked Illinois, 78-66
1/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2005
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Illinois men's basketball team showed why it is No. 1 in the land Saturday afternoon, overcoming a raucous sellout crowd at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena and thwarting a number of Wildcat comeback attempts during the second half to win, 78-66.
Luther Head scored a season-high 26 points as the Fighting Illini improved to 18-0 (4-0 Big Ten) -- the best start in school history. They had tied the school's 1988-89 Final Four team on Wednesday with their 17th straight win.
The 6-foot-3 Head used his great leaping ability to score from the inside, hit four 3-pointers from outside, and played hustling defense for the Illini, who finally pulled away in the latter stages of the second half against the scrappy Wildcats (8-8, 1-3 Big Ten).
"Clearly Illinois is a team that is very good and playing at a pretty high level," said NU head coach Bill Carmody afterward. "The numbers that jump out at me are 16 turnovers by us and 16 offensive rebounds by them."
In a boisterous Welsh-Ryan Arena filled with purple-clad Northwestern students, the Illini trailed only twice -- early in the game -- and led by eight at halftime.
Last season in Evanston, Illinois was ahead of Northwestern by nine at the half, but the Wildcats rallied for a 10-point victory.
Not this time. Illinois' experience and poise kept it from happening again, even though the Wildcats made several efforts to repeat history and earn their first-ever win against a top-ranked team.
Head had 17 points in the second half. Roger Powell scored 15 points and Dee Brown 12 for the Illini, who have won 14 straight Big Ten games and a school-record eight conference road games in a row.
Vedran Vukusic -- NU's leading scorer entering the game -- was held to just two free throws in the first half, but came back with a strong second half to lead Northwestern with 20 points, while Davor Duvancic added 13 and T.J. Parker had 12.
For the second time in a week, the Wildcats shot very well from the field -- on Saturday it was 57 percent -- but still lost. Afterward, Carmody pointed to NU's turnover total (16) as a culprit.
"We have played three games in a row where we shot at or better than 50 percent, and we have not won any of them," said Carmody. "It is turnovers. They are just stacking up on us."
Even with the turnover total, Northwestern kept things interesting most of the way. The 'Cats got within six points early in the second half, before Head drove for a basket and then took a nice pass from Deron Williams for a high-rising slam as the Illini went back up by 10.
Vukusic banked in a shot and hit a 3-pointer to slice Illinois' lead to five, at 53-48, with 12 minutes to play. But James Augustine got inside for a basket and converted a three-point play, dousing Northwestern's comeback attempt.
Williams got his fourth foul with 11:39 to go, but Illinois added to its lead as Jack Ingram hit a jumper and Head made two free throws to make the score 60-48. Northwestern got within single digits just one more time, when Vukusic knocked down another trey to make the score 62-53 with exactly nine minutes left.
"It seemed, in the second half, they were up eight or nine points a few times," said Carmody. "We would score a basket, but they theywould score for a stretch there. We never stopped them."
NU is off for a week now, before playing at Penn State next Saturday. Tip time for that game is 4 p.m. Eastern (3 p.m. Central), and it will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
