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Behind near-perfect first half, Northwestern eviscerates Eastern Illinois in key tuneup

EVANSTON — For the first five minutes of Thursday night’s opener against Eastern Illinois (2-3), 17th-ranked Northwestern (1-0) — or at least its defense — looked a little bit rusty. After nine months without live game action due to COVID-19, and attempting to integrate two new starters into a complex defensive framework, the Wildcats likely had some things they needed to work on.

By the time the end of the second quarter rolled around, any onlooker had likely been dissuaded of that notion. A +12 turnover margin, more points off those turnovers than EIU had amassed in total and an eight-minute-long 24-2 run, among other highlights, had Northwestern well on the way to levying a statement of intent at the expense of a relatively capable Eastern Illinois team.