No. 5 Illinois rolls to 12th straight win, routing Northwestern

Andrej Stojakovic scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures as fifth-ranked Illinois blitzed visiting Northwestern 84-44 on Wednesday in Champaign, Ill., to earn its 12th straight win.

Torrid long-range shooting and effective ball movement boosted Illinois (20-3, 11-1 Big Ten), which led by as many as 49 points.

The Illini had 20 assists on 28 made baskets while shooting 48.3%. That included 17 3-pointers.

Ben Humrichous, Zvonimir Ivisic and Keaton Wagler each scored 13 points while swishing three treys apiece. David Mirkovic hit four 3s and finished with 12 points.

Northwestern struggled to 29.2% shooting while falling 14 points shy of its previous season low. The Wildcats (10-13, 2-10) started 1-for-16 from 3-point range and finished 4-of-25.

Nick Martinelli, who entered play as the top scorer in the Big Ten at 23.7 points per game, had four points on 2-for-10 shooting. Tre Singleton paced the Wildcats with eight points and Jayden Reid scored seven.

Tomislav Ivisic grabbed 12 rebounds to help the Illini finish plus-27 on the glass. He added five assists to match Wagler for the team lead.

Northwestern stayed afloat in the early going, taking a 7-5 lead on a Tyler Kropp jumper with 15:57 to go in the first half. Jake Davis hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and the Illini never looked back.

The trey sparked Illinois to a 25-2 run over the next seven minutes, a surge that included long-distance makes from five different players. Humrichous paced the barrage with three 3s during the spurt.

Illinois rolled to a 47-19 lead at the break behind 51.7% accuracy from the floor that featured 11 first-half treys. Wagler punctuated the dominance and sent the State Farm Center crowd into a frenzy when he banked home a 3 from just inside midcourt to beat the buzzer.

Wagler led all scorers with 10 first-half points.

Illinois earned a sweep of Northwestern for the first time since 2021-22 while defeating its in-state rival in Champaign for the 10th straight game.

–Field Level Media