Berry Goes Off to Down Illini In Overtime
An overtime nail-biter for the Illini led to a big-time win for the Wildcat at Welsh Ryan Arena in Evanston. It was their second top-10 win at home of the 2023-24 season. Unfortunately for the Fighting Illini, it was the Cat’s leaders who were the stars of this show. Boo Buie went off for 29 points on the night and stretched the Illini thin. It seemed Illinois was one step behind defensively all night, and Buie took full advantage of the Illinois struggles. Buie went 3-5 from deep, and 12-25 from the field, and took the Illini defense to work. Boo was the star of the show in Evanston and brought the roof down all night. Of course, he didn’t act alone in the big win for the Wildcats. Trailing closely behind on the night with 23 was Brooks Barnhizer, who went 4-6 from deep, and 9-15 from the field. Ty Berry finished with 14 on the night and made the shots that counted for the Wildcats in OT. Big shots from deep for Berry and Buie put Northwestern ahead in overtime and sealed the deal once and for all. The result was a 96-91 overtime loss for the Fighting Illini.
Illinois had a pair of solid performances on the night as well. Coleman Hawkins went for 22 on the night, going 2-3 from deep and snagging down 13 rebounds. A very solid double-double performance from the athletic big man, who continues to sweeten up his stock for the NBA draft. Speaking of double-doubles, why wouldn’t Quincy Guerrier join the party? 15 points and 13 rebounds for Guerrier, who also knocked down 3 from behind the arc. The Oregon transfer continues to shine as a forward in the Big Ten. Marcus Domask, like Hawkins, found his way to 22 points on the evening for the Illini. Marcus did his absolute best to get Illinois the W in this game. Every time the Illini fell behind, Domask balled out to put them back in business. At the end of overtime, however, it was the home Cats that walked away with a 5-point win over the #10 ranked Fighting Illini.
Saturday will be the next challenge for Underwood’s squad, as they take on Indiana. Trey Galloway and the Hoosiers come to the State Farm Center, and a border battle will be a prime opportunity to get Illinois back in the winning category. The Hoosiers are coming off a 91-79 loss themselves to big ten-leading Wisconsin.
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