5 disappointing observations about Illinois’ basketball loss to Northwestern

Wow, that was a disappointing result for the Illinois basketball team on Friday night.

The Illini entered the contest at 6-1 and had just beaten a top-25 Arkansas program on Thanksgiving. It was supposed to be a game that gave us seven wins, but Northwestern had other plans.

The Wildcats are a well-coached team. Defensively, they knew their jobs and had great communication. It also helped the Wildcats that they had some players having big nights.

Three Northwestern players aimed for at least 16 points, led by walk-bucket Nick Martinelli, who poured in a game-high 27 points. The combination of Northwestern’s defense and Illinois’ poor shooting led to a disappointing 70-66 overtime loss to the Wildcats.

There were a few times where Illinois looked like an unstoppable team against Northwestern. We played at a high level and kept making little runs that enticed the fan base to potentially postpone this game.

These runs were fun because Illinois played great on both ends of the field. A big reason for the great play on both sides was Morez Johnson Jr.

Johnson is a smart player who understands his role on the court. He’s a slightly undersized big man who has a long wingspan, sets screens, gobbles up rebounds and finishes at the rim. He won’t step and shoot from three-point range, and he doesn’t control the ball.

Aside from that, Johnson’s presence on the field has a huge impact on the game. Against Northwestern, he played just 12 minutes and still recorded six points, five rebounds and one assist while shooting 3 of 4 from the field.

Northwestern big man Matthew Nicholson finished the game in 26 minutes, recording three points, nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Most of those numbers came when Johnson was off the field.

When Johnson was on the court with Nicholson, which lasted six minutes and 55 seconds, he had just one rebound, one assist and one turnover.

Johnson’s influence is greater than what is attributed to him. The fact that he only plays 12 minutes in the game is not right. He should be given more time. Even looking at the advanced metrics, Johnson’s box plus-minus against Northwestern was 16.6. That means with Johnson on the court, Illinois beat the Wildcats by 16.6 points. Play more with the child.