Quick thoughts on a 74-67 loss for Northwestern:
How it happened: It was a nightmare start Wednesday night at Assembly Hall for Indiana. Northwestern, who were confident of their blowout victory Sunday at home over Michigan State, were sharply offensive early and Indiana put up some resistance. At the 5:31 mark in the first half, the Wildcats led 33-18. Without a home crowd that could provide energy, Indiana looked like a team on the ropes. Trayce Jackson-Davis gave Indiana a boost late in the first half, and by the break, Indiana had closed the gap to nine at 37-28. Northwestern couldn’t stop turning it around to start the second half. At the 12:51 mark, Indiana tied the game at 47. But just as Indiana opened a four-point lead at 54-50, Northwestern countered with a 9-0 run to get a five-point lead. The margin grew to eight at 62-54 on a Miller Kopp 3-pointer with 5:32 to play, but the Hoosiers stormed back to get within two after a Trayce Jackson-Davis thump and an Armaan Franklin 3-pointer. The Hoosiers would come within two a second time, but Chase Audige hit several hard shots down the stretch to lift the Wildcats to their second Big Ten victory.
Standout performer: Jackson-Davis was again IU’s best player, finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes. However, at times he struggled with Northwestern’s doubles and committed five turnovers.
Statistics that stand out: Indiana’s defense inside the 3-point line was porous as Northwestern shot 67.7 percent on 2s and became the first team to score more than one point per game. Possession (1.11) this season against Hoosiers.
Finally, IU individual statistics:
Finally pace-free statistics:
Filed for: Northwestern Wildcats