Chase Audige had 21 points and four steals and Northwestern won for the sixth time in seven games, defeating Illinois 73-60 on Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Northwestern (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten) added to its best start in seven seasons. The Wildcats got 15 points from Boo Buie and 13 from Ty Berry. Buie was 2-for-13 from the field but made 11 of 12 free throws.
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The Wildcats shot 32% from the field and made 7 of 18 3-pointers. Three of those were consecutive 3s by Audige, Brooks Barnhizer and Berry that gave them a 47-43 lead with 11 minutes remaining.
While Illinois was mired in a 1-for-9 shooting slump, the Northwestern run reached 22-2 for a 60-45 lead with 5:53 remaining. The Wildcats would not make another field goal but went 13-for-16 from the line to close out the win.
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Northwestern made 32 of 40 free throws for the game, accounting for almost 44% of its scoring.
Matthew Mayer scored 17 points and went over 1,000 career points for Illinois. Jayden Epps had 11 points off the bench and Coleman Hawkins scored 10. Terrence Shannon Jr., third in the Big Ten at 17.8 points per game, had nine points and seven assists.
The Illini (9-5, 0-3) have lost four of their last five games against Power Five teams, the lone win an 85-78 overtime victory over then-No. 2 Texas on Dec. 6. Illinois had won the last eight in the series with Northwestern.
Two free throws and a pull-up jumper by Audige followed by Robbie Beran’s three-point play put Northwestern up 23-17 with 6:50 remaining in the first half. Illinois bounced right back with an 8-2 run to tie it, then Northwestern edged ahead to lead 31-27 at halftime.
The Wildcats wore their “Chicago’s Own” By the Players uniforms from Under Armour for the second time this season.
Illinois plays at home against No. 14 Wisconsin on Saturday. Northwestern plays at No. 15 Indiana on Sunday.
