Dec. 6—Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Kylan Boswell Jr. 6-2 9.4 Champaign
G Kasparas Jakucionis Fr. 6-6 13.6 Vilnius, Lithuania
G Tre White Jr. 6-7 7.6 Dallas
F Ben Humrichous Gr. 6-9 10.1 Tipton, Ind.
C Tomislav Ivisic Fr. 7-1 16.3 Vodice, Croatia
FYI: Jakucionis’ six assists per game have the Illinois guard tied for fifth in the Big Ten with Minnesota guard Mike Mitchell Jr., who hasn’t played since Nov. 9 with an ankle injury. That leaves Jakucionis tied for 21st nationally in assists per game with Utah’s Miro Little and Murray State’s JaCobi Wood but tops among freshmen nationally.
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
F Will Riley Fr. 6-8 15.4 Kitchener, Ontario
G Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn So. 6-1 7.3 Lafayette, Ind.
F Morez Johnson Jr. Fr. 6-9 5.4 Chicago
Starters
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
G Ty Berry Gr. 6-3 7.7 Newton, Kan.
G Jalen Leach Gr. 6-4 14.1 Nyack, N.Y.
G Brooks Barnhizer Sr. 6-6 20.2 Lafayette, Ind.
F Nick Martinelli Jr. 6-7 20.1 Glenview
C Matthew Nicholson Gr. 7-0 4.6 Clarkston, Mich.
FYI: Barnhizer, who missed Northwestern’s first four games with a foot injury, and Martinelli are the only teammates in the country scoring at least 20 points per game this season. They are not, however, the highest scoring duo in the Big Ten. That honor goes to Rutgers freshmen Dylan Harper (23.8 ppg) and Ace Bailey (18.8 ppg).
Off the bench
P Name Yr. Ht. PPG Hometown
F Luke Hunger R-So. 6-10 4.9 Montreal
G Justin Mullins Jr. 6-6 3.2 Oak Park
G Angelo Ciaravino Fr. 6-6 3.3 Chicago
Site: Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,039), Evanston.
Radio: Brian Barnhart (play-by-play) and former Illini Doug Altenberger (analysis) will have the call on the Illini Sports Network on WDWS 1400-AM, WDWS 93.9-FM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WPXN 104.9-FM, WDAN-1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM, WSOY 1340-AM and WSOY 103.3-FM.
TV: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analysis) have the call on BTN.
Series: Illinois leads 144-44.
Last meeting: Northwestern won 96-91 in overtime on Jan. 24 in Evanston.
FYI: While Illinois has won 10 of its last 12 games against Northwestern, the Illini have lost their last two games at Welsh-Ryan Arena with a 13-point loss in the 2022-23 season to go with last year’s overtime defeat. Illinois’ last win on the Wildcats’ home floor was a 59-56 victory on Jan. 29, 2022, that saw Kofi Cockburn put up 22 points and nine rebounds.
Northwestern returned four of five starters from last season, but what the Wildcats have done on the offensive end through nine games this season doesn’t much resemble their efforts a year ago. Last season’s team was centered around Boo Buie. This year’s team has Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli leading the way, and Illinois coach Brad Underwood expects to see “booty ball-type situations with those guys causing matchup problems and difficulties.”
“He’s so versatile,” Underwood said of Martinelli. The Northwestern forward has seen his scoring jump from averaging 8.8 points last season to 20.1 points this year. “He’s a guy that scores it in a lot of ways. He’s got a nice left-handed jump hook. I think everybody might have questioned in high school his ability to shoot threes. He’s a good three-point shooter and letting them go. He can play on the ball as a point guard and handle it, and yet he can get down on the blocks and be as nasty and effective down there as he is anywhere. I love his versatility.”
Friday night’s game against Northwestern will be the first of four consecutive Quad I matchups for Illinois, with games against Wisconsin, Tennessee and Missouri to follow. The Illini are 0-1 in Quad I games this season after last month’s 100-87 loss to Alabama in Birmingham, Ala. And while a 90-77 Thanksgiving Day win against Arkansas only qualifies as a Quad II victory (for now), it still stands as an important step forward for a relatively young Illinois team.
“Having great tests like that are really great for us early on,” Illini forward Ben Humrichous said. “Both of those — Arkansas and Alabama — were physical games, which is what I feel like the Big Ten prides itself on, and that’s something Northwestern will be great at (Friday). I think it was good preparation for what Big Ten play is going to be like.”
Kylan Boswell settling into the best version of himself on the offensive end of the court has come with the Illinois guard slowing down and understanding his opportunities in the paint are different now than they were the past two seasons at Arizona. Making effective decisions at the rim will be key to Boswell’s success. Namely in getting fouled and getting to the free-throw line. After attempting just two free throws per game in Illinois’ first three games, the junior guard has gotten there more frequently (22 times in the last four games) if not as often as Underwood wants.
“We really challenged him all along with making the free-throw line a friendly place to be and a place he wants to be,” Underwood said. “He’s big and strong. He can take multiple hits. He’s crafty and has good athleticism. … When you look at the free-throw line as an ally and not something you want to avoid getting fouled, he’s been very resourceful in doing that. I think he can continue to grow his game as he gets to the foul line 8-10 times a game.”
No. 19 Illinois 83, Northwestern 75
Multiple Big Ten teams have started conference play with a road win. Critical victories in a new 18-team league. Illinois has a legitimate chance to join that group if it continues to play the high level of two-way basketball it flashed in the first month of the season. Multiple players capable of putting up a 20-point performance coupled with a defense that ranks as high as No. 9 nationally in adjusted efficiency, per Bart Torvik, is a pairing that has and should continue to lead to wins. Like one Friday night in front of State Farm Center North (aka Welsh-Ryan Arena). (News-Gazette prediction record — 7-0)
