Quick thoughts about a 74-67 loss to Northwestern:
How did this happen: It was a nightmare to start Wednesday night in Indiana’s Assembly Hall. Northwestern, confident of his victory at home on Sunday over Michigan, was offensive early and Indiana offered little resistance. By the 5:31 mark of the first half, the Wildcats led by 33-18. Without cheering for energy, Indiana looked like a team on the ropes. Trayce Jackson-Davis gave Indiana a boost at the end of the first half and, in the interval, Indiana narrowed the gap to nine in 37-28. Northwestern kept turning it over to the start of the second half. By 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 grab a five-point lead. The margin grew to eight in 62-54 on a Miller Kopp 3 points with 5:32 to play, but the Hoosiers returned to stay within two after a buried Trayce Jackson-Davis and a Armaan Franklin 3 points. The Hoosiers would be inside two again, but Chase Audige landed several hard shots on the stretch to take the Wildcats to their second Big Ten victory.
Featured Performer: Jackson-Davis was again the best IU player, finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds in 36 minutes. However, he sometimes struggled with Northwestern’s double teams and committed five turnovers.
Stunning statistics: Indiana’s defense within the 3-point line was porous with Northwestern hitting 67.7 percent in 2s and becoming the first team to score more than one point for possession (1.11) this season against the Hoosiers .
Final individual UI statistics:
Final statistics without pace:
Filed under: Northwestern Wildcats