Thoughts about A 72-68 loss to the wild cats:
Entering tonight’s game, Indiana was still expected to make the NCAA Tournament – barely.
But this loss to Northwestern, a Quad 3 loss, could now leave the Hoosiers looking outward.
This was a game the Hoosiers couldn’t afford to lose. But they did. It happened.
Everything seemed fine in the first half. Indiana looked like it had played lesser teams so many times this season. They moved the ball. 3s made. Had little trouble running their stuff. This smaller, less experienced Northwestern team was thrown into disarray on defense. The Hoosiers assisted on 14 of their 15 made baskets in the first half. They shot 8-of-16 (50 percent) from three-point range. Lamar Wilkerson scored 14 points (5-for-8). Sam Alexis shot 4-for-4 (eight points). Nick Dorn finally got some daylight, going 2-of-5 from deep.
The Hoosiers felt comfortable, putting up 1.44 points per possession. And yet, despite IU’s offensive success, Northwestern found itself within striking distance, trailing by nine (42-33) at the half.
And in the second half, the Wildcats struck.
After an Alexis score early in the half put Indiana up 11, Northwestern went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to three. The Wildcats were also more locked in on defense, and Indiana could no longer get what it wanted. Yes, the Hoosiers hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to nine early. And even with 10:04 to go, a Tucker DeVries jumper gave Indiana an eight-point lead.
But then the bottom finally fell out.
The Hoosiers didn’t make another field goal until a Conerway bucket at the rim with 31 seconds to play, a stretch of 9:33 without a basket. This was all against a Northwestern team that finished 15th in Big Ten play tonight in points allowed per possession. One that also didn’t have a distinct size or athletic advantage against Indiana, which has doomed IU at other times this season.
As the Hoosiers continued to miss shots, possessions remained stagnant and confidence seemed to evaporate. Worse, Indiana didn’t do itself any favors on the offensive boards, either getting easy turnovers or expanding possessions. The Hoosiers managed just three offensive rebounds on 18 missed baskets in the second half and recovered just 18 percent of their missed shots for the game. An Alexis free throw with 16 seconds to play was Indiana’s only second-chance point all game. Northwestern, on the other hand, recovered 38 percent of its misses and scored 12 second-chance points.
Indiana’s defense just wasn’t good enough in Big Ten play. It has been a growing problem in recent weeks and has become particularly apparent in the last two games. After Purdue roasted them at Mackey Arena this weekend, Northwestern scored 1.3 points per possession in the second half. The Hoosiers had no answer for Nick Martinelli, who scored 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting in the final 20 minutes. He led all scorers with 28 points.
Was DeVries fouled on a late three-point attempt with three seconds to play, an attempt that would have seen him go to the line with the Hoosiers down three and a chance to tie the game? Yes.
But Indiana didn’t get the call. And really, it shouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place.
This was IU’s worst loss of the season. It comes at a terrible time. And this program once again finds itself in a familiar spot, a tournament berth slipping away as Select Sunday approaches.
See more: The Minute After, Northwestern Wildcats
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