T.J. Parker pumped his fist after a scrappy second-half steal. Mohamed Hachad threw his arms into the air after blocking Indiana guard Tom Coverdale’s 3-point attempt. Jason Burke took it personally when he was tripped out of bounds by Hoosier forward Mike Roberts.
Intensity.
It’s what the Northwestern men’s basketball team has lacked during the entire Big Ten season. And it’s what fueled the Wildcats’ storm-the-court, call-your-best-friend, turn-on-SportsCenter win over the Hoosiers.
After watching Jitim Young play with more energy all season, the Cats finally matched his passion level Wednesday night.
“It’s great,” Young said. “You see the connection when we have a lot of people with a lot of energy. Everything seems to fall into place.”
Young again set the tone, slashing to the hoop and out-jumping taller Indiana forwards to bring down key rebounds. He proved his superiority on an eye-popping move to shake Hoosiers phenom Bracey Wright with 11 minutes left in the contest. Young’s 23-point, 12-rebound performance — coming in his first game after dislocating his finger — will go down as one of the gutsier efforts in NU basketball history.
For the previously lifeless Cats, this was a refreshing performance that rekindled memories of last season’s hustle-driven home triumphs.
Once again, everything started on the defensive end, as NU was the more passionate team.
After being bombarded by 3-pointers in its loss to Indiana three weeks earlier, NU coach Bill Carmody knew he needed to shake up the game plan. The solution was obvious, but executing it was another question.
But NU came through, completely shutting down the Hoosiers’ outside assassins Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby, who went a combined 0-for-9 from 3-point range.
The Cats’ defensive energy led to easy fast-break points (NU had eight to Indiana’s none) and took pressure off the offense.
Hachad, who played a career-high 33 minutes, jumped around the court like he was on a pogo stick, getting his hand in Hoosiers faces and reaching in for timely steals all game long.
Fellow freshman Parker broke out of his slump, adding a career-high 21 points and using his speed to frustrate Hoosiers defenders.
The Cats caught the Hoosiers at the right time — Indiana frittered away a big lead to Louisville on Saturday. Indiana’s game-long hangover was most apparent in the opening minutes, as NU held them scoreless until the 14:40 mark — a complete reversal of the storyline from when the two teams met in Bloomington, Ind.
Any way you look at it, NU didn’t just sneak a win past Indiana. It dominated a national power.
This is a victory that can motivate a program.
And it’s proof that a little intensity can go a long way.
