Cats collapse in second half of blowout loss to Illinois
Welp, Northwestern's game against Illinois on Thursday night was fun for a half. But then things quickly spiraled out of control in the second period.
The Wildcats were outscored by 40 points, 53-13, in the second half as they turned a 15-point halftime lead into a 81-56 loss to No. 12 Illinois at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
It's hard to say that the Wildcats' second-half collapse wasn't expected, though. Blowing leads has been a problem year-in and year-out under head coach Chris Collins.
This one, though, took the cake. Northwestern closed the first half on a 12-1 run to take a 15-point lead into the break. But in the second, the Wildcats scored just two baskets, turned the ball over nine times and got outrebounded by 13.
"(Illinois) smelled some blood in the water and they kept attacking," said a disappointed Northwestern head coach Chris Collins.
Here are our takaways from a rollercoaster ride in Evanston that ended with a third straight loss for the Wildcats.
The second half was ugly: Getting outscored by 40 points in the second half is not a recipe to win many basketball games. Northwestern found that out the hard way.
Kofi Cockburn, who scored 13 second-half points, manhandled Ryan Young under the basket and Illinois found their shooting stroke from the outside. After building a 15-point first-half lead, Northwestern looked like they didn't belong on the court with the Illini in the second.
As soon as Illinois got a little momentum rolling, Northwestern folded. They got away from running their offense and started forcing isolations, leading to turnovers and low-percentage shots.
"Once we lost the lead, we lost our poise, and we were never able to get back into the game," said Collins.
it was a complete and utter collapse by the Wildcats, who hit just 2 of 24 shots, an 8.3% clip.
Turnovers swayed the game: One of the key reasons behind Northwestern's 15-point lead at the half was 11 Illini turnovers in the first 20 minutes, leading to 12 NU points.
Northwestern was the victim of mistakes in the second half, however, turning it over nine times, including five times in the first three and a half minutes, when Illinois started chipping away at the Wildcats' lead.
Northwestern panicked when Illinois got going, and that only made it worse. Boo Buie got into foul trouble and played just 15 minutes, which pressed other guys into ball-handling duty.
But even when Buie was in the game, the offense was a disaster in the second half.
Buie's slump continues: Buie was held scoreless for the second straight game, and he has scored just 2 points in the last 120 minutes of Northwestern basketball.
At risk of stating the obvious, that is not good. What is also not good is Buie's stat line against the Illini: 0 points on 0-for-6 shooting, 1 assist, 0 rebounds, 2 turnovers.
Against Michigan, maybe one could write off his scoreless performance because he was hampered by a knee to the thigh at the end of the first half. Tonight, he never found a rhythm because of foul trouble.
These aren't isolated incidents, though. Buie has played poorly for three straight games. He is "the straw that stirs the drink" for Northwestern's offense, making things happen with his scoring and passing ability.
Collins said that coaches would continue to work with Buie to restore the confidence that the sophomore point guard has seemingly lost.
If Buie can't find a way to get back on track, it's going to be a rough final 14 games for the Cats.
The zone worked...then it didn't: Northwestern started the game in a 3-2 zone and Illinois couldn't seem to figure it out. Northwestern was active in the passing lanes, leading to 11 Illini turnovers in the first 20 minutes, and Illini stars Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu combined for just 9 points.
Northwestern was also rebounding well out of the zone, something that is a challenge for any team playing a zone, and for Northwestern, in particular. Yet the Wildcats held a 17-16 edge in rebounding at the break.
Cockburn decided he had enough of the zone and absolutely destroyed it to begin the second half. The 7-foot, 285-pound big man from the Bahamas had 9 points, seven rebounds and a block in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Dosunmu finished the second half with 11 points.
Robbie Beran, Pete Nance and Young could not contain him, which is not necessarily all their fault -- Cockburn is just a mountain of a man.
Northwestern tried to go to man-to-man in the second half, but at that point Illinois was feeling it and was scoring pretty much at will.
The Wildcats have now lost three straight: Northwestern began Big Ten play with three straight wins for the first time since 1967-68. But now, after dropping three straight in the league to come back to .500, we are starting to wonder if this team is an NCAA Tournament contender or pretender.
In their last three games, the Wildcats have lost by 15 points to Iowa, 19 points to Michigan and now, 25 points to Illinois. They've gotten embarrassed in their last two contests.
Defense continues to be an issue for this Northwestern team. In their three Big Ten wins, they allowed 67.3 points per game. But in these last three consecutive losses, they've given up 84.3.
Collins & Co. are presented with an opportunity to right the ship on Wednesday in Columbus against Ohio State, a team they've already beaten once. But don't count on it.