Indiana Falls at Northwestern, 64-62

Wednesday, February 15

Evanston, Ill.

9:00 PM

Indiana University

18-8,9-6Big Ten

Northwestern

19-7,10-5Big Ten

Indiana

Northwestern

2/15/2023 11:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery Postgame Notes Watch | Highlights

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

EVANSTON, Ill. – Indiana rallied. Boy, did it rally.

It fought. Boy, did it fight.

A 21-point, on-the-road deficit to Northwestern Wednesday night became a crunch-time tie. The No. 14/15 Hoosiers had a chance.

A defensive stop was needed.

It never came.

Wildcats guard Boo Buie hit a short hook shot with two seconds left for a 64-62 Wildcat victory.

That dropped IU to 18-8 overall, 9-6 in the Big Ten. Northwestern is 19-7, 10-5. The Wildcats have sole possession of second place in the conference standings, two games behind Purdue.

"We fought," coach Mike Woodson told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during the post-game radio show. "We did everything we had to do to get back in the game, and then Boo hit a tough shot. We couldn't get it out of his hands. He went downhill and made a hell of a shot after being bumped."

During a furious second-half rally from a 19-point halftime deficit, IU shut off the paint, forced Northwestern into a three-point shooting futility (just 2-for-22 after a 6-for-11 start) and found offensive productivity (66.7 percent shooting in the second half).

It also had, again, a huge dose of senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis.

It wasn't quite enough.

"You can't fault the effort," Woodson told Fischer. "We were terrible the first half. We came back storming back. We just fell short."

Jackson-Davis had 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while playing over 39 minutes.

Senior forward Race Thompson was back after missing a couple of games for precautionary reasons. He finished with 13 points and three rebounds.

"It was a game-time decision," Woodson said in the post-game press conference about Thompson playing. "The young man told me he felt good enough to play. He gave us some positive minutes."

Jalen Hood-Schifino added 13 points while playing the entire game. Northwestern was led by Buie's 21 points.

IU out-shot (49 percent to 37 percent) and out-rebounded (36-25) Northwestern. It had a 32-22 edge in points in the paint, and a 15-14 edge in made free throws.

But, the Hoosiers committed 13 turnovers to Northwestern's four, and only made three three-pointers to the Wildcats' eight. A series of first-half offensive and defensive breakdowns created too big a hole.

"We were too hyped before the game," Woodson told Fischer. "We couldn't make shots. We were throwing the ball away.

"We settled down the second half, started to play and got back in it. But you spot a good team 19 points on the road, it's tough to come back."

IU's offense struggled for the second straight road game. But unlike Saturday's Michigan victory, the Hoosiers couldn't find a way to win.

"We can't have stretches where we're not scoring," Woodson told Fischer. "I have to do a better job of getting us in a better frame of mind in terms of making shots.

IU committed three turnovers in the first six minutes, led 10-7 and then stumbled.

Northwestern's 21-3 run -- helped by a pair of Indiana technical fouls (one on the IU bench, one on Woodson) that resulted in four free throws -- put the Hoosiers in a 28-13 hole.

Turnovers, missed free throws and bad shots mounted. The Wildcats built a pair of 18-point leads, then got it to 21 before ending the half ahead 39-20.

Jackson-Davis was limited to just three shots, five points and six rebounds. IU shot just 29 percent from the field, 0-for-5 from three

"We felt good coming into this game," Woodson said during the post-game press conference. "Our intentions were good, but in the first 10 possessions of the game, I bet we had five to six turnovers. You can't run offense that way. It's impossible. We couldn't make a shot and couldn't get defensive stops."

The main second-half priorities -- get Jackson-Davis more involved, find offensive balance, ratchet up the defense.

The Hoosiers did all three.

They got a pair of Thompson layups and a Trey Galloway three-pointer close to 42-27 in less than three minutes.

Hood-Schifino and Miller Kopp hit three-pointers. Thompson dunked. Jackson-Davis made a pair of free throws. Assist were up, turnovers were down, the defense turned stingy. IU closed to within seven.

A Thompson three-point play off a Jackson-Davis assist brought IU to 53-47 with eight minutes left.

A pair of Jackson-Davis free throws made it a five-point game with five minutes left. His three-point play made it 58-56 with 2:51 left.

A Hood-Schifino basket made it 62-60 with 32 seconds left. A Kopp steal and pass to Jackson-Davis tied it at 62-62 before Buie's basket won it.

"We made it tough on them," Woodson told Fischer. "They only scored 25 points in the second half. Our defense finally came to play. I wish we had started the game that way."

And then, in the post-game press conference, with a Saturday home game against Illinois looming:

"To have a shot at the end says a lot about the character of our ballclub," Woodson said. "We have to move on and get ready for Illinois."