Quick thoughts on a 72-68 loss to Northwestern:
How it happened
After a slow start on Tuesday night in Assembly Hall, Indiana caught fire quickly. Lamar Wilkerson was the primary catalyst for the Hoosiers as the senior guard made four 3-pointers on his way to 14 first-half points. Overall, it was a strong shooting first half for Indiana, which made eight of its 16 3-point attempts and scored 1.44 points per possession.
The defensive struggles, however, continued as Indiana allowed Northwestern to shoot 50 percent from the field and score 1.13 points per trip, keeping the Wildcats within single digits at the break, 42-33. Northwestern rebounded 38 percent of its missed shots and scored six second-chance points. Indiana, meanwhile, only had two offensive rebounds and didn’t score a second-chance point.
It was a strong start to the second half for Northwestern, as the Wildcats trimmed the IU lead all the way down to three at 44-41 before a Tucker DeVries 3-pointer just before the under-16 media timeout. Nick Martinelli was the key for Northwestern in that stretch, scoring all eight points for the Wildcats after struggling in the first half. After a Tayton Conerway 3-pointer stretched the lead to nine at the 14:48 mark, the Wildcats went on a 7-2 run to make it 52-48 with 11:10 remaining. At the under-eight media timeout, the Hoosiers still led by four at 56-52.
Out of the timeout, Tucker DeVries made three free throws to make it 59-52 Hoosiers. But Northwestern scored the next six points to make it a one-point game at 59-58. The Wildcats took the lead at 60-59 on a Martinelli jumper with 5:05 to play. A pair of free throws from Lamar Wilkerson gave IU the lead at 61-60, which was the score at the final media timeout.
Martinelli’s 3-pointer from the right corner with 2:58 gave Northwestern a 63-61 lead. Another Martinelli jumper made it 65-61 Northwestern with 1:44 left. A pair of Wilkerson free throws made it 65-63 Northwestern with 1:23 remaining. But the Wildcats answered right back with a bucket from Martinelli to make it 67-63 with one minute to go. Conerway’s layup with 31 seconds left made it 67-65, and IU got a steal on the next possession, and Sam Alexis was fouled on a putback attempt with 16.1 seconds left. Alexis split the free throws and IU fouled Jake West, who made the first free throw before IU called its last timeout. West made the second free throw and Northwestern used a timeout. Tayton Conerway scored on a dunk with 8.4 seconds left and IU fouled West again. West made both free throws. On IU’s ensuing possession, it appeared DeVries was fouled on a 3-point attempt, but no foul was called and Northwestern’s Arrinten Page then made a free throw to seal the win.
Standout performers
Wilkerson led IU with 18 points, Conerway added 14 and Alexis had 13.
Statistics that stand out
IU allowed 1.3 points per possession in the second half, was outscored 12-1 in second-chance points and the Hoosiers shot just 8-for-26 and scored 26 points over the final 20 minutes.
Up next for IU
Indiana hosts No. 13 Michigan State on Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Tipoff is set for 3:45 p.m. ET on CBS.
Final IU individual statistics
Final tempo-free statistics
Assembly Call postgame show
See More: Commentary, Northwestern Wildcats
