CHAMPAIGN — Marcus Domask scored 32 points and had a team-high six assists to lead No. 9 Illinois to a 96-66 Big Ten win Tuesday night over Northwestern in the Illini’s second game without suspended star Terrance Shannon Jr.
Justin Harmon had 20 points, Quincy Guerrier scored 14 and Coleman Hawkins had 13 for the Illini (11-2, 2-0), who never trailed, led by as many as 33 points, and shot 63% from the field. Guerrier also had 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
Domask was 11 of 15 from the field and 9 of 10 from the line.
“We’re getting good ball movement and guys are making shots,” Domask said about the nearly 200 points the Illini have scored in the two wins in Shannon’s absence.
Harmon topped his season-high of 18 points that he scored Friday against Fairleigh Dickinson.
“Justin played 29 minutes off the bench tonight. He’s being rewarded for his hard work,” said Illinois coach Brad Underwood.
Boo Buie led Northwestern (10-3, 1-1) with 20 points. But the standout guard didn’t have an assist, he had four turnovers and picked up a technical foul. Ty Berry, in his 100th career game for the Wildcats, had 14 points.
“This was a butt kicking in every sense of the word,” said Northwestern coach Chris Collins. “Domask was fantastic, but a lot of their guys were fantastic.
“The story of the game was our inability to defend them. We can’t take this game and flush it, forget about it. We have to understand why we couldn’t guard them and fix the problems.”
The Illini led 46-29 halftime. They made seven of their first nine shots, went on an 11-0 run late in the first half, and held the Wildcats to 31% shooting in the half.
Northwestern finished 41% from the field.
The Illini have won nine straight games against Northwestern at the State Farm Center and 10 of 11 overall against the Wildcats.
Illinois is the Big Ten’s winningest team in conference play since the start of the 2019-20 season. The Illini are now 57-25 in conference games over the last four-plus seasons. Illinois’ No. 9 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll is its highest in the first week in January since it was No. 6 in 2006.
BIG PICTURE
Northwestern: The Wildcats stunned No. 1 Purdue last month in their Big Ten opener. There was no upset magic against No. 9 Illinois. Northwestern’s goal each game is to hold its opponents to 65 points or fewer. The Wildcats missed that goal by 31 points Tuesday. They’re now 7-1 when reaching the goal this season and 125-36 during Collins’ 11 years as coach.
Illinois: The Illini haven’t missed Shannon so far. After scoring 101 points in a win Friday over Fairleigh Dickinson, they nearly reached triple digits against a Northwestern team with an impressive resume.
UP NEXT
Northwestern: The Wildcats will face Michigan State at home on Sunday.
Illinois: The Illini will play Friday at Purdue in a showdown between the Big Ten’s top teams.
