Northwestern practice notes and video: 1/13, pre-Illinois

EVANSTON -- Coming off a disheartening loss to Michigan State that Chris Collins and some of his players feel could’ve been a deserved win, Northwestern is moving on and getting ready for the Illinois on Wednesday. Ahead of the rivalry game, here’s what Collins, freshman guard Bryant McIntosh, and senior center Jeremiah Kreisberg had to say prior to practice on Tuesday. Video is at the bottom.

- JerShon Cobb was forced to sit out the latter part of Sunday's game after Gavin Schilling stepped on his foot. Collins said it was nothing new though, and called it a "freak accident." Collins said "it's always day to day" when it comes to Cobb's status, but said he hopes his senior guard will be able to play Wednesday.

- He's only been at Northwestern for half a season, but McIntosh said Sunday was the most "down" he has ever seen Collins after a game. "He was pretty upset, but we all were," McIntosh said. "There was a lot of broken hearts and a lot of tears in the locker room, because we just laid it on the line and it didn't come out the way we wanted to."

- McIntosh said the ride home was quiet, but said that the team "let it go" Monday and has moved on to thinking about Illinois. "In this league, if you let a hangover like that defeat you before your next game, you can be in trouble," he said.

- Collins echoed his point guard, and said he feels good about where his team is at mentally. "We've got to move on," he said he told his team. "We can feel bad on the bus ride home, we can drown our sorrows a little bit, but when we get off the bus we have to start thinking about Illinois."

- Collins said Illinois center Nnanna Egwu is one of his favorite players to watch. "I love his energy," Collins said. "I love what he brings, he's a winning player on both ends."

- Collins on Alex Olah: "When Alex is playing well, it gives us another dimension. It's a focus of ours going into every game to try to find ways to help him be successful."

- Jeremiah Kresiberg has seen increased playing time the past two games. Collins said he liked what he had been seeing from the former Yale big man in practice. "He's earned it," Collins said.

- Kreisberg on his role: "Olah is obviously offensively one of the best, so I try to just be more of a glue guy, help him out... I think I provide a lot of positional defending so being a talkative guy and hustling and being in the right spot [is key]. I think that really helps our defense."