Lineups

No. 19 Illinois (6-1, 0-0)

Appetizers

P Name Year 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 ties the Illinois guard for fifth place in the Big Ten with Minnesota’s Mike Mitchell Jr., who hasn’t played since Nov. 9 because of an ankle injury. That puts Jakucionis 21st nationally in assists per game with Utah’s Miro Little and Murray State’s JaCobi Wood, but is tied for the top spot among freshmen nationally.

From the bench

P Name Year Ht. PPG Hometown

F Will Riley Fr 6-8 15.4 Kitchener, Ontario

G Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn Sun. 6-1 7.3 Lafayette, Ind.

F Morez Johnson Jr. Fr. 6-9 5.4 Chicago

Northwestern (6-3, 0-1)

Appetizers

P Name Year Ht. PPG Hometown

G Ty Berry Size 6-3 7.7 Newton, Kan.

G Jalen Leach Gr. 6-4 14.1 Nyack, NY

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, Michigan

FYI: Barnhizer, who missed Northwestern’s first four games with a foot injury, and Martinelli are the only teammates in the country to score at least 20 points per game this season. However, they are not 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).

From the bench

P Name Year 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

Details

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,039), Evanston.

Radio: Brian Barnhart (play-by-play) and former Illini Doug Altenberger (analysis) will lead 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 at 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 in a 13-point loss in the 2022-23 season, matching their overtime loss last year corresponds. Illinois’ last win at the Wildcats’ home stadium was a 59-56 victory on January 29, 2022, in which Kofi Cockburn had 22 points and nine rebounds.

Beat the storylines from author Scott Richey

On Friday night I’m standing in front of an asshole

Northwestern returned four of five starters from last season, but what the Wildcats have done on offense in nine games this season doesn’t resemble much of their performance a year ago. Last season’s team saw Boo Buie take center stage. This year’s team is led by Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli, and Illinois coach Brad Underwood expects there will be “booty ball-type situations” where those guys cause problems and difficulty in the matchup.

“He’s so versatile,” Underwood said of Martinelli. The Northwestern forward’s scoring increased from an average of 8.8 points last season to 20.1 points this year. “He’s a guy who can score in a lot of ways. He has a nice left-handed jump hook. I think in high school everyone would have questioned his ability to shoot threes. He’s a good three-point shooter and lets them run. He can play and handle the ball as a point guard, and yet he can get on the blocks and be just as nasty and effective down there as he is anywhere. I love his versatility.”

Great way to get ready for the start of Big Ten play

Friday night’s game against Northwestern will be the first of four consecutive Quad I games for Illinois, followed by games against Wisconsin, Tennessee and Missouri. The Illini are 0-1 in Quad I games this season after suffering a 100-87 loss to Alabama in Birmingham, Ala., last month. And while a 90-77 Thanksgiving Day win over Arkansas only counts as a Quad II win (for now), it’s still an important step forward for a relatively young Illinois team.

“Having tests like this is really great for us right off the bat,” Illini forward Ben Humrichous said. “Both of those – Arkansas and Alabama – were physical games, which I think the Big Ten prides itself on, and Northwestern will be great at that (Friday). I think it was good preparation for what Big Ten play is going to look like.”

“Consider the free throw line as an ally”

Kylan Boswell has become his best version on offense, a result of the Illinois guard slowing down and understanding that his options on the team are different now than they were the last two seasons in Arizona. Making effective decisions at the sideline will be key to Boswell’s success. Namely when fouling and reaching the free throw line. After attempting just two free throws per game in Illinois’ first three games, the junior guard has gotten there more often (22 times in the last four games), although not as often as Underwood would like.

“We really challenged him the whole time, making the free throw line a friendly place and a place he wanted to be,” Underwood said. “He is big and strong. He can take multiple hits. He is skilled and has good athleticism. … If you look at the free throw line as an ally and not something you want to avoid getting fouled on, he was very resourceful about it. I think he can continue to grow his game if he can get to the foul line 8-10 times per game.”

The News-Gazette’s Choice

No. 19 Illinois 83, Northwestern 75

Several Big Ten teams started conference play with an away win. Decisive victories in a new 18-team league. Illinois has a legitimate chance to join this group if it continues to play the high level of two-way basketball it has shown in the first month of the season. Multiple players capable of producing a 20-point performance coupled with a defense that ranks 9th nationally in adjusted efficiency according to Bart Torvik is a pairing that has resulted in wins and should continue to result . Like on a Friday night in front of State Farm Center North (aka Welsh-Ryan Arena). (News-Gazette Prediction Record – 7-0)