Kylan Boswell scores 17 points as No. 17 Illinois defeats Northwestern 83-74

AP
Jan 26, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) Kylan Boswell scored 17 points and had six rebounds to lead No. 17 Illinois over Northwestern 83-74 on Sunday.

Morez Johnson Jr. had 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots, Ben Humrichous had 14 points, Kasparas Jakucionis had 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Jake Davis added 11 points from the bench for Illinois (14-6, 6-4 Big Ten).

Nick Martinelli and Jalen Leach each scored 17 points Northwestern (12-8, 3-6), which trailed 43-21 at halftime. Ty Berry had 10 points.

Illinois, the No. 2 rebounding team in the country, dominated the boards 50-27 without leading rebounder Tomislav Ivisic, who missed his second straight games because of an illness. The Illini had 21 offensive rebounds.

Illinois: The Illini had lost two straight at home and didn’t play well in either game. They avoided a third consecutive home loss, which hasn't happened since 2017, with the win, but they were outscored 53-40 in the second half. Illinois committed 13 turnovers in the game that led to 24 Northwestern points.

Northwestern: The Wildcats’ dynamic duo of Nick Martinelli and Brooks Barnhizer average 37 points per game in Big Ten play. They were held to a combined 20 points, with Martinellli shooting 7 of 19 and Barnhizer 1 of 7. Barnhizer was hurting after taking a hard fall in Northwestern's last game.

Illinois went on a 15-point run early in the first half to break a 5-5 tie and take a 20-5 lead. Northwestern didn’t score for more than five minutes.

Northwestern hasn’t won in Champaign since 2013, losing nine straight games.

Illinois plays Thursday at Nebraska, while Northwestern hosts Rutgers on Wednesday.

---

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

1st Half
NW
Wildcats
21
ILL
Fighting Illini
43

Time		Play	Score
20:00		Matthew Nicholson vs. Morez Johnson Jr. (Wildcats gains possession)
19:47		Jump ball. Jalen Leach vs. Kasparas Jakucionis (Fighting Illini gains possession)
19:47		Jalen Leach turnover (lost ball) (Kasparas Jakucionis steals)
19:34		Ben Humrichous misses two point jump shot
19:32		Angelo Ciaravino defensive rebound
19:29		Jump ball. (Wildcats gains possession)
19:13		Nick Martinelli misses three point jump shot
19:11		Kylan Boswell defensive rebound
18:49		Tre White misses three point jump shot
18:47		Ben Humrichous offensive rebound
18:38	+2	Morez Johnson Jr. makes two point dunk (Ben Humrichous assists)	0-2
18:22	+3	Nick Martinelli makes three point jump shot	3-2
17:52		Matthew Nicholson shooting foul (Ben Humrichous draws the foul)
17:52	+1	Ben Humrichous makes regular free throw 1 of 2	3-3
17:52	+1	Ben Humrichous makes regular free throw 2 of 2	3-4
17:22		Brooks Barnhizer misses three point jump shot
17:20		Matthew Nicholson offensive rebound
17:18		Angelo Ciaravino misses two point layup
17:17		Fighting Illini defensive rebound
16:56		Nick Martinelli shooting foul (Morez Johnson Jr. draws the foul)
16:56	+1	Morez Johnson Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2	3-5
16:56		Morez Johnson Jr. misses regular free throw 2 of 2
16:56		Ty Berry defensive rebound
16:46		Morez Johnson Jr. blocks Nick Martinelli's two point layup
16:44		Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn defensive rebound
16:15		Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn misses three point jump shot
16:13		Morez Johnson Jr. offensive rebound
16:11		Matthew Nicholson blocks Morez Johnson Jr.'s two point layup
16:09		Fighting Illini offensive rebound
16:09		Matthew Nicholson blocks Morez Johnson Jr.'s two point layup
16:07		Wildcats defensive rebound
15:49		Nick Martinelli misses two point jump shot
15:47		Morez Johnson Jr. defensive rebound
15:45		Jump ball. (Fighting Illini gains possession)
15:45		TV timeout
15:28		Kasparas Jakucionis misses three point jump shot
15:26		Nick Martinelli defensive rebound
15:07		Jalen Leach misses two point jump shot
15:05		Matthew Nicholson offensive rebound
15:02		Matthew Nicholson turnover (bad pass)
14:53		Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn misses three point jump shot
14:51		Brooks Barnhizer defensive rebound
14:40		Ty Berry misses three point jump shot
14:38		Fighting Illini defensive rebound
14:23		Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn turnover (lost ball) (Brooks Barnhizer steals)
14:06	+2	Keenan Fitzmorris makes two point layup (Jalen Leach assists)	5-5
13:52	+2	Tre White makes two point layup (Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn assists)	5-7
13:29		Brooks Barnhizer misses two point jump shot
13:27		Morez Johnson Jr. defensive rebound
13:13	+2	Tre White makes two point jump shot	5-9
12:56		Kasparas Jakucionis blocks Jalen Leach's two point jump shot
12:54		Tre White defensive rebound
12:50	+2	Jake Davis makes two point layup (Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn assists)	5-11
12:17		Wildcats turnover (shot clock violation)
11:56		Kylan Boswell misses two point jump shot
11:54		Jake Davis personal foul
11:54		TV timeout
11:37		Morez Johnson Jr. blocks Nick Martinelli's two point layup
11:35		Ben Humrichous defensive rebound
11:27	+3	Ben Humrichous makes three point jump shot (Kylan Boswell assists)	5-14
11:12		Ty Berry misses two point floating jump shot
11:10		Morez Johnson Jr. defensive rebound
10:57		Will Riley misses three point jump shot
10:55		Kasparas Jakucionis offensive rebound
10:40		Ben Humrichous misses three point jump shot
10:38		Ty Berry defensive rebound
10:26		Brooks Barnhizer misses two point layup
10:24		Kylan Boswell defensive rebound
10:00	+3	Ben Humrichous makes three point jump shot (Kasparas Jakucionis assists)	5-17
9:59		Wildcats 30 second timeout
9:48		Nick Martinelli misses three point jump shot
9:46		Kasparas Jakucionis defensive rebound
9:39	+3	Ben Humrichous makes three point jump shot	5-20
9:18		Brooks Barnhizer misses two point jump shot
9:16		Kasparas Jakucionis defensive rebound
9:08		Kasparas Jakucionis misses three point jump shot
9:06		Tre White offensive rebound
9:00		Ben Humrichous misses three point jump shot
8:58		Will Riley offensive rebound
8:55		Will Riley turnover (traveling)
8:41	+3	Ty Berry makes three point jump shot (Brooks Barnhizer assists)	8-20
8:22	+2	Will Riley makes two point jump shot	8-22
7:58		Nick Martinelli misses three point jump shot
7:56		Kasparas Jakucionis defensive rebound
7:47	+2	Morez Johnson Jr. makes two point layup (Kasparas Jakucionis assists)	8-24
7:31		Jalen Leach misses three point jump shot
7:29		Ty Berry offensive rebound
7:25		Ty Berry misses two point jump shot
7:23		Will Riley defensive rebound
7:19		Tre White misses three point jump shot
7:17		Ben Humrichous offensive rebound
7:16		Jalen Leach personal foul (Ben Humrichous draws the foul)
7:16		TV timeout
7:02		Ben Humrichous misses two point jump shot
7:00		Brooks Barnhizer defensive rebound
6:42		Brooks Barnhizer turnover (lost ball) (Tre White steals)
6:26		Ben Humrichous turnover (traveling)
6:11		Nick Martinelli misses three point jump shot
6:09		Jake Davis defensive rebound
6:02	+3	Jake Davis makes three point jump shot (Tre White assists)	8-27
5:46	+3	Ty Berry makes three point jump shot (Jalen Leach assists)	11-27
5:28	+3	Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn makes three point jump shot (Tre White assists)	11-30
5:05		Angelo Ciaravino misses two point jump shot
5:03		Morez Johnson Jr. defensive rebound
4:57	+2	Tre White makes two point dunk (Kasparas Jakucionis assists)	11-32
4:56		Wildcats 30 second timeout
4:34		Morez Johnson Jr. blocks Nick Martinelli's two point layup
4:32		Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn defensive rebound
4:27		Kasparas Jakucionis turnover (lost ball) (Angelo Ciaravino steals)
4:22		Morez Johnson Jr. personal foul (Keenan Fitzmorris draws the foul)
4:19	+2	Ty Berry makes two point layup (Nick Martinelli assists)	13-32
4:07	+2	Kylan Boswell makes two point layup	13-34
3:53	+2	Jalen Leach makes two point jump shot	15-34
3:38		Angelo Ciaravino blocks Will Riley's two point layup
3:36		Will Riley offensive rebound
3:28		Will Riley misses two point layup
3:26		Kylan Boswell offensive rebound
3:18	+2	Kylan Boswell makes two point layup	15-36
3:12		Ben Humrichous blocks Jalen Leach's two point layup
3:10		Ben Humrichous defensive rebound
3:02		Ben Humrichous misses three point jump shot
3:00		Ty Berry defensive rebound
2:46		Jump ball. (Wildcats gains possession)
2:46		TV timeout
2:34		Justin Mullins misses three point jump shot
2:32		Jake Davis defensive rebound
2:13	+3	Jake Davis makes three point jump shot (Kylan Boswell assists)	15-39
1:53		Will Riley shooting foul (Brooks Barnhizer draws the foul)
1:53		Brooks Barnhizer misses regular free throw 1 of 2
1:53	+1	Brooks Barnhizer makes regular free throw 2 of 2	16-39
1:24		Will Riley misses two point jump shot
1:22		Wildcats defensive rebound
1:11	+3	Nick Martinelli makes three point jump shot	19-39
0:54	+2	Kasparas Jakucionis makes two point jump shot	19-41
0:33		Nick Martinelli misses two point hook shot
0:31		Angelo Ciaravino offensive rebound
0:28	+2	Angelo Ciaravino makes two point tip layup	21-41
0:05		Brooks Barnhizer shooting foul (Kylan Boswell draws the foul)
0:05	+1	Kylan Boswell makes regular free throw 1 of 2	21-42
0:05	+1	Kylan Boswell makes regular free throw 2 of 2	21-43
0:00		End of period

Kylan Boswell scores 17 points as No. 17 Illinois defeats Northwestern 83-74

1st Half NWWildcats21ILLFighting Illini43

1st Half
NW
Wildcats
21
ILL
Fighting Illini
43