Neither team came out strong in this game. The best player on the court early on was, easily, Giorgi Bezhanishvili. He scored Illinois’ first 14 points and single-handedly had a 14-11 lead over the Wildcats at one time with 9:44 left in the first half.
Northwestern continued to keep the game close, though. I believe the biggest lead for the Illini was six points the entire first half. There wasn’t a ton of good basketball during this time. Dererk Pardon made two free throws and the Illini went into the halftime locker room up 30-27.
The Wildcats did come out firing in the second half.