Quite an opening act for Illini, Northwestern

CHAMPAIGN - In its first game as a nationally ranked team since 1969, Northwestern set an Assembly Hall standard for 3-pointers and tied the arena record with just 3 turnovers.

Yet No. 25 Northwestern's normally ideal formula didn't pay with a victory in a riveting Big Ten opener.

Illinois, which trailed by 10 early in the second half, rode center Mike Tisdale and power forward Mike Davis into overtime and beyond.

Davis delivered 6 of his 20 points in overtime, while Tisdale added 4 of his career-high 31 points in the extra session as the Illini snapped Northwestern's nine-game winning streak with an 89-83 victory in front of an Assembly Hall sellout crowd.

Did NU coach Bill Carmody think all of his team's 3-pointers would outduel Tisdale and Davis' dominance inside?

"I didn't weigh it that way," Carmody said. "But I knew we weren't stopping those guys in there and I didn't know what to do about it."

Tisdale, who also grabbed 11 rebounds for the third double-double of his career, received a standing ovation when he fouled out with 2:27 left in overtime.

Davis added a career-high-tying 17 rebounds. He produced a putback on the first possession of overtime, and Northwestern (10-2, 0-1) never caught up to Illinois (9-4, 1-0).

"The last couple days in practice, we've been focusing on getting an inside touch," Tisdale said. "Whether we get a shot or not, just moving the ball, getting it inside and making the defense collapse - obviously me and Mike Davis got the post touches we need."

John Shurna led Northwestern with 27 points. He led the charge early when the Wildcats hit four 3-pointers on their first five possessions.

Freshman Drew Crawford's 3-pointer with 3:33 left in overtime set the Assembly Hall team record with 16 3-pointers. Alas, the Wildcats also set the Hall mark and tied the Big Ten mark for 3-point attempts (47) as they cooled off dramatically after halftime.

Northwestern drilled 11 of 23 3-point attempts in the first half - Jeremy Nash and Shurna hitting 4 apiece - to take a 42-33 lead into the break.

"In the first half I think (the Illini) were pretty responsive to some of our drive-and-dribble penetration," Carmody said. "We got some open looks that way. In the second half I didn't think we were testing them out enough. I think we were settling a little bit for 3s."

Northwestern led 47-37 with 17:14 left, but the Illini reeled in the Wildcats as they rode the wave from the home crowd. Brandon Paul's back-to-back 3-pointers gave Illinois a 56-55 edge to set up a nip-and-tuck finish.

Illinois had the final possession in overtime but never got a shot as Juice Thompson stole the ball and rattled the glass with a half-court runner.

NU had a chance to tie in overtime, but freshman Alex Marcotullio missed an open 3-pointer from the corner with 25 seconds to go.

"Everyone's disappointed," Thompson said. "We don't feel good about this at all. We feel like this was a game we could've won."