EVANSTON-This was a big game. Maybe the biggest in Northwestern’s mostly dismal basketball history.

The Wildcats, on a historic five-game conference winning streak and entertaining thoughts of the school’s first-ever NCAA tournament bid, was facing off against Indiana, a Big Ten blue blood looking up at NU in the standings. Welsh-Ryan Arena was packed to the rafters.

After a rough start, the Wildcats proved that they were up to the challenge, overcoming an early 10-1 deficit with a scintillating 20-2 blitz that Indiana could never overcome. Northwestern was in control the rest of the way and eventually claimed a 68-55 victory that gave the Wildcats their first six-game Big Ten winning streak since 1932-33.

Bryant McIntosh scored 21 points and dished out 8 assists, while Sanjay Lumpkin pitched in with 15 points to pace the Wildcats.

Thomas Bryant scored a game-high 23 points for the Hoosiers.

Here are our three pointers from Northwestern’s win, which left them with a record of 18-4 (7-2 Big Ten):

A slow start, then a dominating run: It looked like the moment might have been a little too big for Northwestern early. The Wildcats missed their first seven shots from the floor to fall behind 10-1, as they continually rushed shots and just flat-out missed open ones. After that cold spell, however, the guys in the black Gothic uniforms simply dominated the undermanned but still dangerous Hoosiers. The Wildcats ripped off a 20-2 run fueled by multiple Indiana turnovers and a few big dunks – Lumpkin’s breakaway and Barret Benson’s two-handed jam foremost among them. After that horrendous opening, Northwestern sank 13 of 23 shots from the floor and outscored IU 34-13 to go into the half with a 35-23 lead. Indiana had 10 turnovers in the half, compared to just 2 for NU.

B-Mac carried the offense: On a night that Scottie Lindsey and Vic Law didn’t have their A games, combining to go 1 for 9 on 3-pointers, McIntosh once again carried the offense. Northwestern’s sophomore point guard was at his dazzling best, showing off a few of his patented jump floaters and a couple ankle-breaking crossovers and behind-the-back dribbles that left Hoosiers sprawling in his wake. He finished the game with a stat line of 21 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds, with 4 turnovers. McIntosh’s teardrop on the baseline gave the Wildcats their first lead, 14-12 at the 9:37 mark of the first half, and his pull-up 3-pointer from the wing gave Northwestern its largest lead of the game, 18 points, with 7:28 left to play.

The atmosphere was electric: If Welsh-Ryan Arena was ever louder, this writer, who has been going to Wildcat basketball games since 1984, hasn’t heard it. There was plenty of Indiana crimson in the building, but the Northwestern fans were just plain louder – and had a lot more to cheer about to boot. The student section was especially raucous, consistently harassing IU players with chants ranging from “ankles, ankles” to “high school girlfriend” to the customary “you can’t guard him.” The arena reached dangerous decibel levels after Lumpkin’s breakaway dunk, and Nathan Taphorn’s 3 from the corner shook the foundation. This is what a real home-court advantage sounds like.