Epic run fuels rout of Rutgers
There are runs, and then there’s the type of run that Northwestern had against Rutgers. Calling it a run is unfair; it was more like a marathon.
The Wildcats outscored the Scarlet Knights 31-0 over an 11:06 span of the first quarter and coasted to an 83-61 win in the first round of the Big Ten tournament in Washington, D.C. Northwestern came out of the run with a 37-9 lead and Rutgers never really came close to challenging again.
Rutgers cut Northwestern’s lead to 16, 53-37, at the 12:10 mark of the second half, but the Wildcats scored the next 7 points to push their lead back to 23 and the lead stayed in that neighborhood for the remainder of the game. It got to the point that fan favorite Charlie Hall got into the game with 1:07 left and pulled down a rebound.
Vic Law and Scottie Lindsey had 16 points and 4 assists apiece to lead the Wildcats in both categories as four of Northwestern’s five starters scored in double figures and Sanjay Lumpkin fell just short with 9. Dererk Pardon led the team with 9 rebounds to go along with his 13 points.
The win extended Northwestern’s school record for wins in a season to 22. The Wildcats (22-10) advance to play Maryland on Friday in the quarterfinals (approx. 7:55 p.m.).
Here are our three pointers:
The Cats buried them early: Northwestern trailed 9-6 after Issa Thiam hit a 3-pointer with 17:08 left in the first half. The next time the Scarlet Knights scored, the Wildcats led 37-9 and just 6:02 remained. After Northwestern made three consecutive 3s – two by Law and one by Nathan Taphorn – to take a 19-9 lead, Rutgers called a timeout, but it didn’t stop the bleeding. The Knights called another one after a Dererk Pardon dunk, but that didn’t do it either. By the time Sanjay Lumpkin threw down another dunk the Wildcats had a 28-point lead and the game was effectively over. Not only did the Wildcats shoot the lights out during the run – they hit 12 of 17 shots – but coach Chris Collins was most proud of their defense, which forced Rutgers into seven turnovers that produced a lot of easy baskets. It helped that the Scarlet Knights, the worst-shooting team in the Big Ten, couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean, missing 13 straight shots.
Law bounced back, big-time: Law, who was coming off of a Purdue game that saw him score just 4 points on 2-of-13 shooting, played a remarkably efficient game. He hit 5 of 6 shots from the floor, including 2 of 3 from long distance, and made all 4 of his free throws for his 16 points. He also added 4 assists and 5 rebounds and didn’t turn the ball over once. Law hit both of his 3s during Northwestern’s epic 31-0 streak, and he also had the most spectacular basket of the stretch when he viciously threw down an alley-oop from Lindsey on the break. Save for the game against Michigan, Law has struggled offensively for more than a month. His return to form will bode well for the Wildcats in this Big Ten tourney, as well as the other, bigger one that follows it.
Looking ahead: Northwestern was already all but guaranteed a spot in the Big Ten tournament before tipoff, so at this point the Wildcats are playing for seeding in the Big Dance. Still, a loss to Rutgers would have made Selection Sunday a little more anxious. Next up is a Maryland team that beat the Wildcats 74-64 on Feb. 15 and brought them back down to earth after their stunning road upset of Wisconsin. Northwestern will have to control Melo Trimble, who torched the Wildcats with a career-high 32 points on 12-for-17 shooting the first time around. Maryland (24-7), which finished tied with Wisconsin for second place in the Big Ten, has won two in a row after dropping three straight immediately after beating Northwestern.