Northwestern came up short against Butler last Wednesday night in its quest for a signature victory. Instead, the Wildcats posted an even bigger win against an even bigger name school on Monday night.
The Wildcats opened and closed the first half with big runs and then dominated the second half for a surprisingly easy 77-58 beatdown of No. 22 Texas in the first round of the Legends Classic in Brooklyn.
Northwestern (3-1) advances to play Notre Dame in the title game on Tuesday night.
Bryant McIntosh scored a game-high 20 points and added five assists for the Wildcats, who also got 16 points from Scottie Lindsey and 10 each from Dererk Pardon and Isiah Brown.
Texas (3-1) was led by Tevin Mack’s 18 points but didn’t have another player in double figures.
Here are our three pointers on the most impressive all-around win of Chris Collins’ tenure in Evanston:
The Cats opened and closed the first half with authority: Northwestern walked onto and off the floor smoking hot against the Longhorns. The Wildcats began the game on an 11-0 run, fueled by five Texas turnovers, three Northwestern steals, seven points by Lindsey and four by Vic Law. Texas managed just one shot in the span and didn’t score its first point until 3:50 had elapsed. The irony is that the Longhorns also didn’t score in the last 3:50 of the half as the Wildcats closed on a 9-0 run to head into the locker room with a 34-26 edge.
Lawlessness prevailed for Northwestern: The most impressive aspect of Northwestern’s run to close the half was that it came with Law, the Wildcats’ leading scorer, on the bench with foul trouble. Law picked up his second foul with 11:01 left in the first half and took a seat next to Collins. The Wildcats eventually fell behind 23-22 but then went on to score the last nine points of the half, including clutch 3s by Nathan Taphorn and Lindsey. Then, Law picked up his third foul less than two minutes into the second half and was taken out again. How did the Wildcats respond? By going on an 8-1 run to take the commanding lead they would never relinquish.
The second half was a clinic: Northwestern was in command throughout the second half, stretching a nine-point halftime lead to as much as 20. Texas is notorious for coach Shaka Smart’s “Havoc” pressure defense, but the Wildcats broke the press with relative ease all night, turning the ball over just four times in the second stanza and making the Longhorns play half-court. With Law riding the bench, Northwestern got big performances out of McIntosh (12 of his points in the second half) and Isiah Brown (all 10 of his), who were often paired together to give the Wildcats two ballhandlers against pressure. Pardon scored six of his points in the second half and finished with a team-high six rebounds. The Wildcats outrebounded Texas 40-32 overall.
