National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Illinois 86, Northwestern 60
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 28, 2015
Where: State Farm Center, Champaign, Illinois
Officials: # Tim Clougherty, # Gene Steratore, # Paul Szelc
Attendance: 15471

Illinois 86, Northwestern 60: Rayvonte Rice scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the host Fighting Illini led from start to finish against the Wildcats.

Ahmad Starks added 17 points and Malcolm Hill had 15 for Illinois (18-11, 8-8 Big Ten), which went 14-of-29 from 3-point range. Kendrick Nunn tallied 14 points and Maverick Morgan had 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Fighting Illini, who won the battle of the boards 40-21.

Alex Olah produced 18 points and five rebounds for Northwestern (14-15, 5-11), which saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. Bryant McIntosh collected 13 points and four assists while Dave Sobolewski had a season-high 11 points in a reserve role for the Wildcats.

Illinois knocked down four straight 3-pointers to jump in front 12-2 and Hill connected from beyond the arc twice as part of an 11-0 run to stretch the Fighting Illini's lead to 30-12. Illinois drained nine 3-pointers - including three by Hill - in the first half to take a commanding 45-23 advantage into the break.

Illinois continued its 3-point shooting barrage as Nunn nailed a triple and threw down a dunk to push the margin to 52-29 early in the second half. Rice knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers as the Fighting Illini remained in total control at 74-48 and they coasted the rest of the way to earn their first season sweep over Northwestern since 2007.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Illinois went 18-of-22 from the free-throw line while Northwestern finished 13-of-18. … Rice and Hill combined to go 8-of-13 from beyond the arc. … Wildcats G Scottie Lindsey and Fighting Illini F Leron Black were assessed double technicals after tangling up midway through the second half.
Top Game Performances
 
Northwestern   Illinois
Alex Olah 18 Scoring Rayvonte Rice 19
Bryant McIntosh 4 Assists Kendrick Nunn 3
Alex Olah 5 Rebounds Maverick Morgan 8
Alex Olah 4 Free Throws Made Rayvonte Rice 5
Vic Law 2 Steals Austin Colbert 2
Alex Olah 1 Blocks Nnanna Egwu 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Northwestern 60 42.9 5-20 13-18 11 20 1 4 11
Illinois 86 47.4 14-29 18-22 15 40 1 5 10