Indiana spoils NU's dance party
With less than a minute and a half left, Northwestern was trying on its dancing shoes. Then Indiana shattered the glass slippers.
Thomas Bryant completed a 3-point play with 2.6 seconds left to hand the Wildcats a gut-wrenching 63-62 loss. In a game of runs, Indiana got the last one, scoring the last 8 points of the game to rally for the victory.
It was the third defeat in four games for Northwestern, which may need one more win to punch its ticket to the school’s first-ever NCAA tournament.
Byrant McIntosh scored 22 points to lead Northwestern, which led 62-55 with 1:33 left but didn’t score again. Scottie Lindsey, in his strongest game since returning from mononucleosis, scored 13 points, while Dererk Pardon had 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Indiana, which had lost five straight games, was led by James Blackmon’s 13 points. Bryant scored 11, none more important than the game-winning free throw that bounced high off the back iron before dropping through.
Some experts, such as ESPN’s Jay Bilas and CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm, think Northwestern is already solidly in the 68-team NCAA field. But one more win in its final few games – against Michigan and Purdue to close out the regular season and at least one more in the Big Ten tournament – would make it a much more relaxed Selection Sunday.
Here are our three pointers on the heartbreaker that left Northwestern with a record of 20-9 (9-7 Big Ten):
The runs runneth over: If you like scoring runs, this was your game. Northwestern went on a 12-0 run in the first half to turn a 14-14 tie into a 26-14 lead. Lindsey scored 7 of those points on two steals that led to breakaway dunks and a 3-pointer. But then the roof caved in on the Wildcats as Indiana embarked on an epic 22-0 run to take a 36-26 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Hoosiers, who hit 6 of 12 3-pointers in the first half, capped the scoring blitz with Devonte Green’s three-quarter court shot to beat the buzzer. In the second half, it was more of the same. Northwestern started the half on a 21-4 run to erase the double-digit deficit and open up a 49-42 lead. The Wildcats held their advantage until Indiana’s last run, which started with Robert Johnson’s layup with 1:18 left and ended with Bryant’s free throw after an ill-advised foul by Lindsey.
The drought problem continued for the Cats: Northwestern out-executed Indiana for about 33 of the 40 minutes. But the Hoosiers outscored Northwestern 30-0 over the other 7 minutes as the Wildcats’ two extended scoring droughts at the end of each half – for 5:30 in the first and 1:33 in the second – did them in. Scoring droughts have been a problem for Northwestern lately. The Wildcats went without a field goal for 9:16 in a loss to Illinois and 6:59 in a win over Rutgers. The Wildcats shot 23 of 46 (50 percent) for the majority of the Indiana game, but they went 0 for 8 during Indiana’s first-half run and 0-for-5 over the last 3:11.
Law just can’t find the basket: McIntosh carried the offense for most of the night and Lindsey looked like his old self for a stretch in the first half, but Vic Law had another frigid shooting game for the Wildcats. Since dropping 20 points on Nebraska on Jan. 26, Law has made just 15 of 75 shots, a 20-percent average. He went 1 for 7 against Indiana, including 0 for 3 from beyond the arc. He added five rebounds and one assist. If Northwestern wants to get out of its offensive tailspin that has turned a mortal tournament lock into an iffy proposition, Law will have to turn around his woeful shooting.