The highlight of the Northwestern men’s basketball season, considering the result of the 2002 NCAA Tournament, came about seven minutes into a error-prone game during a lion-like March blizzard.
It was then – March 2 – and there – in snowy Bloomington, Ind. – that the Wildcats led the Final Four-bound Indiana Hoosiers 17-6.
In the opening eight minutes of that game, Indiana committed five turnovers and missed its first five three-pointers. Jared Jeffries didn’t score or even grab a rebound.
The Big Ten Player of the Year was slowed by a bum ankle against the Cats, but he felt fine come tourney time. Indiana plowed through the South region, including an upset win against then-No. 1 Duke, on its way to a 64-52 loss to Maryland in the national championship game.
Indiana finished with a 20-11 mark, with two wins over the Cats – 59-44 on Jan. 2 and 79-67 in the March 2 matchup.
“It’s terrific,” NU coach Bill Carmody said. “It’s great to see because you have this one guy who’s a pro in the middle (Jeffries) and all these other guys around him that never really got the attention they deserved.”
Cats forward Winston Blake was especially impressed with Indiana’s semifinal victory over the Sooners.
“They beat a good Oklahoma team which I had picked to win the whole thing,” he said. “They made a good run, and I think everybody here pulled for them. We wanted to see them represent the Big Ten, and also see (Indiana coach) Mike Davis get the championship.”
The Big Ten was criticized for most of the season after early losses knocked Illinois, Iowa and Michigan State from the top 15 in the Associated Press poll.
Several other Big Ten teams made appearances in the Top 25 during the season, but only Illinois and Ohio State were ranked heading into the Big Dance.
Indiana jumped to No. 3 in the final ESPN/USA Today poll.
“The Big Ten was a little weak this year,” Blake said. “We lost so many to the NBA or to graduation, but it shows that even though it will be a weak conference compared to some others, we still had a team in the championship. That kind of speaks for itself.”
Jeffries has set a personal deadline of April 15 to decide whether he will stay at Indiana for his junior season or declare himself eligibile for the National Basketball Association draft.
But with up-and-comers like Minnesota freshman Rick Rickert, Michigan sophomore Bernard Robinson and Penn State sophomore Sharif Chambliss, along with a strong recruiting class across the conference, Carmody said the Big Ten doesn’t have much to worry about next season.
“I don’t think the Big Ten needs too many people defending it,” he said. “We’re doing pretty well.”
The Daily’s Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report.
