Illinois rattled by Northwestern’s first win in Champaign since 1999

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Northwestern forward John Shurna shoots over Illinois guard Brandon Paul during the second half Sunday in Champaign. | Darrell Hoemann~AP

Updated: March 7, 2012 9:53AM

CHAMPAIGN — Illinois coach Bruce Weber was worried last week after an upset of No. 9 Michigan State at Assembly Hall, thinking the Illini wouldn’t be able to bounce back after beating a top-10 team on their home floor.

He was right.

Northwestern brought Illinois back to reality with a 74-70 victory, the Wildcats’ first in Champaign since Jan. 9, 1999.

‘‘I wasn’t aware of that, and I knew we hadn’t won here the past couple of years, and now we came in and got the victory,” NU junior guard Reggie Hearn said. ‘‘I think this game was like other games we’ve had earlier this year that were close and we didn’t pull it out, but we did tonight.’’

Hearn was masterful in the first half, going 6-for-6, including 4-for-4 from three-point range, for 16 points. He finished with 20.

Senior forward John Shurna delivered in the second half. After scoring only seven first-half points, he erupted to finish with 24 — a performance that put him in second place among the Wildcats’ all-time leading scorers. His 1,808 points surpassed Evan Eschmeyer (1,805 points, 1995-1999), and he’s closing in on Billy McKinney’s 1,900 (1974-77).

The Wildcats (14-8, 4-6 Big Ten) used a six-man rotation for the second consecutive game. They got 14 points from freshman guard Dave Sobolewski and 13 points and four assists from junior guard Drew Crawford. Both played the entire 40 minutes.

This is the second time Illinois (16-7, 5-5) has lost after upsetting a top-10 team. Illinois beat Ohio State 79-74 in Champaign on Jan.  10, then lost three in a row.

Illinois junior guard Brandon Paul (22 points) took responsibility for the loss and deflected criticism from Weber, who has been the target of unhappy fans amid rumors he will be fired.

‘‘Coach Weber might try to take the blame, but it’s on me, Meyers [Leonard], D.J. [Richardson], Tracy [Abrams], Joe [Bertrand] and Sam [Maniscalco],’’ Paul said. ‘‘We came out here and let them do whatever they wanted.”

Leonard scored 21 points and had nine rebounds, and Bertrand added 12 points.

Hearn said the Wildcats wanted to get back at the Illini, who won 57-56 at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Jan. 4. That was a winnable game for NU, which had come from behind. But Shurna missed a three-point shot at the buzzer.

Trying to secure Northwestern’s first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament also gave the Wildcats motivation to beat Illinois on its home floor — and so did hearing Illini fans chanting ‘‘NIT!’’

‘‘As soon as we lost that game, we said, ‘All right, we’ll come back down here and we’re going to get it back,’ ” Hearn said. ‘‘I did [hear the chant], and I laughed and then I laughed harder after we secured the victory. We don’t like Illinois, so it’s good to come in here and get the win.’’