Northwestern
Illinois
Wildcats Defeated In Big Ten Quarterfinals
3/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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March 14, 2003
By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO - Big Ten Player of the Year Brian Cook had his sixth double-double of the season to lead four players in double figures Friday night as Illinois ousted Northwestern from the Big Ten tournament, 94-65, in a quarterfinal game.
Cook, the Big Ten's leading scorer this season, had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Roger Powell added 14 on 5-of-7 shooting, and Dee Brown had 10 points and nine assists as No. 13 Illinois won for the sixth time in its last seven games.
Illinois, the No. 2 seed, will play Indiana in a semifinal Saturday.
Northwestern (12-17) knocked off Minnesota a day earlier using solid inside defense and patience on offense to overcome their disadvantages in size and numbers. The shots that were falling on Thursday, however, did not go down Friday.
The Illini (22-6), meanwhile, shot 52 percent including 65 percent in the first half when they took control of the game with a 27-4 run.
Sophomore forward Davor Duvancic provided a bright spot for the Wildcats, nearly doubling his previous career high of 12 points with 20. Freshman guard T.J. Parker was the only other player in double figures, with 11 points.
Jitim Young, the star in Thursday's victory, finished with just five points and seemed to be cursed as several shots went in and out. He did hit a three-pointer, though, which pushed him over the 1,000-point mark for his career. He became the second NU player this season to reach the milestone (Winston Blake reached it on Feb. 5 vs. Indiana), and the 25th overall in Wildcat history. He is just the 13th NU player to reach the marker in three seasons, however.
The Wildcats looked as if they might be in for a long night when they missed their first two shots and turned the ball over on their other possession. But Parker hit a 3-pointer, and Mohamed Hachad followed with back-to-back baskets to give Northwestern a 7-5 lead with 16:27 left in the first half.
Any thoughts the Wildcats might have had of a second straight upset were short-lived, though. Nick Smith scored on back-to-back jumpers, and the Illini ripped off a 27-4 run over the next nine minutes.
Sean Harrington and Brown each hit 3s to cap the spurt, which was as balanced as it was swift. Six different players scored during the run, and the Illini got points every way imaginable - free throws, layups, jumpers and dunks.
At halftime, Illinois had extended its lead to 47-21.
The Illini were just as merciless defensively, holding the Wildcats to just 24 percent shooting in the first half and allowing only two field goals in the last 11 minutes. They also outrebounded Northwestern 22-12.
It was more of the same in the second half. James Augustine converted a three-point play - his only points of the game - Cook made two sets of free throws and Brown scored on a fast-break layup over Young to extend Illinois' lead to 56-25 with 17:16 to play.
