CHAMPAIGN, Ill.-Boo Buie had carried Northwestern all night. He had scored a career-high 35 points and had the ball in his hands, down by two points, with 18 seconds to go.
In nearly the same situation last week, Buie hit a game-winner to beat Indiana. But with the Illinois crowd roaring, Buie stumbled on his drive into the paint this time and drew a crowd of defenders. He thought there was contact, but the bottom line was that his wild layup attempt was blocked by Coleman Hawkins and the Illini got the ball.
Terrence Shannon Jr. then hit two free throws to complete Illinois' stunning comeback from an 18-point halftime deficit and claim a 66-62 win at the State Farm Center.
The loss snapped the Wildcats' five-game winning streak in a game where Illinois didn't take its first lead until less than three minutes was left in the game. It also denied them a chance to sweep a season series from Illinois for the first time in 57 years.
Northwestern built a commanding 37-19 halftime lead behind eight three-pointers. But the game did a 180 in the second half as the Illini drained seven threes and outscored Northwestern 47-25 after halftime.
The Wildcats used the sparkling play of Buie and a pair of 8-0 runs to take control in an impressive first-half performance. But Illinois shaved 10 points off that lead by the first media timeout.
"The game was lost first four minutes of the second half," said NU head coach Chris Collins.
From there, the game evolved into a back-and-forth fistfight.
Illinois cut the lead to four after a Ty Rodgers layup with 15:06 left, but Northwestern responded with a 12-0 run -- eight of them coming from Buie -- to get the lead back to 16. At that point, Northwestern was breathing easy and the Orange Krush was quiet.
But Illinois had one more charge in them, and from that one, the Wildcats couldn't come back. The Illini finally got the lead, 61-59, on a pair of Matthew Mayer free throws with 2:36 left.
Then Shannon took over, scoring the Illini's final five points to seal the win. Shannon scored 24 of his team-high 26 points in the second half.
Here are our takeaways from the loss that dropped Northwestern's record to 20-8 overall and 11-6 in the Big Ten:
Buie popped in Champaign: Buie had a monster first half, scoring 22 points, including five threes on eight shots from beyond the arc. He wasn't quite as electric in the second half, going for 13 points, but he was still the Wildcats’ only real offensive weapon.
Buie scored 14 of Northwestern's first 22 points, and then had the No. 0 on his jersey ripped wide open by an Illinois defender on a bizarre play in which no foul was called, even with Buie presenting his ripped jersey as evidence to the referee.
"There was a lot of grabbing out there," said Buie.
So he switched to jersey No. 4, without a name on his back, and promptly scored six of the Wildcats' points in an 8-0 run to take control of the game. He wound up scoring 21 points as No. 4 in the game.
Buie scored in all manner of ways, from corner threes to twisting drives to the hole. His huge triple from the wing in the second half let Northwestern breathe a little easier after the Illini cut the lead to 40-36. Buie wound up with eight points in the Wildcats' subsequent 10-0 run.
Unfortunately, things didn't work out for Buie on the final possession. Collins said that they tried to run an action to get Buie going to his right hand but credited the Illinois interior defense for collapsing on him.
The first and second halves were mirror images of each other: It's a well-worn cliché, but both coaches said that the game was "a tale of two halves." They were spot-on. And three pointers told the story.
Northwestern hit seven of its first 11 shots from beyond the arc to build a 29-17 lead. By halftime, they had made half of their shots from long range, eight of 16. Illinois, meanwhile, was ice-cold, missing all 11 of their three-point attempts.
In the second half, the law of averages caught up to NU. Illinois' long-range shots started falling as they turned the tables. Shannon hit Illinois' first triple on the first shot of the second half, and three-pointers fueled their comeback. In all, the Illini hit 7-of-13 threes after the break.
Northwestern, on the other hand, hit just one of five from beyond the arc in the second half. Collins lamented that the Wildcats were never able to get another scorer to step up and complement Buie, especially in the second half.
Only one other Wildcat, Brooks Barnhizer, scored in double figures. He finished with 11 points. Buie’s typical wingman, Chase Audige, had just seven points on 3-for-14 shooting.
Shannon shined in the second half: Shannon, who was coming back from a concussion, was a non-factor in the first half, scoring just two points on two shots, and turning the ball over twice.
But he was a beast in the second half, hitting seven of eight shots, including 4-for-4 from long distance, to finish with 26. Down the stretch he was at his best, as he hit a three-pointer, two layups and three free of four free throws in the last 4:24 as Illinois completed its comeback.
More than once, Shannon drove for layups over Audige, the Wildcats' best defender.
"We had a real hard time with Shannon in the second half," said Collins. "He’s such an explosive athlete."
Both Collins and Illniois coach Brad Underwood credited Illinois' switch to a smaller lineup and the defensive play of Sencire Harris on Buie for changing the complexion of the game. The Illini were able to spread the floor against Northwestern and drive to the rim in the second half.
Northwestern is still in good shape: The Wildcats' longshot dream of a run at the Big Ten title now looks out of reach. The Wildcats trail first-place Purdue by two games with just three to go.
However, they are still in an advantageous position to finish in the top four of the league and qualify for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. Northwestern remains in sole possession of second place at 11-6. Indiana and Maryland lurk a game back at 10-7. A group of four schools, including Illinois, are then a half-game behind them at 9-7.
Collins doesn't like the fact that his team couldn't close out a game they led by 18 points at halftime, but he gave credit to Illinois and said that it would have been a much more bitter pill to swallow if it had happened at home, instead of a hostile environment on the road.
Even with the loss, Northwestern is 6-3 on the road this season.
Northwestern also needs just one more win to set a school record with a 12th conference win.
