Rapid Recap: Northwestern collapses during second half in 70-64 exhibition loss to Illinois State

Illinois State pulled off a nail-biter against a Northwestern side plagued by turnovers and struggles on the offensive glass in a tight 70-64 win for the Redbirds. The exhibition loss marks Northwestern’s return to on-court action after a relatively mediocre 2025-26 season, in which they bowed out in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament to Purdue.

The game pitted Northwestern head coach Chris Collins against his father’s alma mater. Doug Collins is Illinois State’s all-time leading scorer and earned All-American honors there. Collins’ No. 20 is the only jersey retired by the Redbirds. He served as an honorary coach for both sides, sitting on Illinois State’s bench for the first half and with Northwestern for the second. Recently retired Northwestern assistant coach Brian James, an Illinois State graduate, also threw up the ceremonial first tip.

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Illinois State’s Noah Cleveland led all scorers with 16 points (5-for-8 from the field) and 15 rebounds, seven of which were offensive boards. Johnny Kinziger scored 15 points and added three rebounds and two assists.

Jake West led all Wildcats in scoring with 14 points (6-for-11 from the field) and seven assists. Bellarmine transfer Jack Karasinski added 13 points, while Angelo Ciaravino scored twelve.

The Redbirds surged past Northwestern in the second half, despite shooting just over 29% from beyond the arc all game. Illinois State grabbed 18 offensive rebounds to Northwestern’s nine and committed just 10 turnovers to the Wildcats’ 20. The loss is an extraordinary reversal of Northwestern’s 35-point win over Illinois State in an October 2025 exhibition game.

Illinois State, which advanced to the semifinals of last year’s National Invitational Tournament, projects as a frontrunner for the Missouri Valley Conference’s automatic bid to March Madness. The Redbirds, who went 23-13 (12-8) last season, returned their top two scorers, forward Chase Walker (13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds per game) and Kinziger (11.5 points, 3.3…

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Publish date : 2026-10-18 23:45:00

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