BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Following the intermission of Northwestern’s game against Indiana on Saturday, guard T.J. Parker drained a 3-pointer to put the Wildcats ahead 28-26. But Hoosiers guards Marshall Strickland and Bracey Wright hit treys of their own to hightlight a decisive 19-5 run.
The Hoosiers’ offensive outburst sunk the Cats on their way to a 73-62 victory before 15,140 at Assembly Hall. Indiana (8-6, 2-1 Big Ten) halted NU’s (7-8, 2-2) two-game winning streak and extended the Cats’ winless streak in Bloomington to 36 years.
Just before halftime, NU used a 14-4 run, capped by another 3-pointer from Parker, to pull within one.
“I thought we were getting lucky in the first half with the shots going down,” coach Bill Carmody said. “It didn’t seem to me that it was going to work for 40 minutes.”
NU shot nearly 40 percent on the game, but nailed only 8 of 27 from behind the arc.
“They showed us a little respect,” Carmody said. “They were sagging off and keeping guys in the paint, basically just saying, ‘You have to make some shots.'”
Guard Mohamed Hachad led the Cats with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting, five rebounds and two steals in 38 minutes. He matched his previous career-high in points, which he set Jan. 10 at Iowa. Two other Cats finished in double digits: guard Jitim Young (17) and Parker (10).
Young said he played with a sore wrist, which he injured against Michigan on Jan. 7.
Parker said the team’s vulnerable defense allowed an average Indiana team to run away with the game in the second half.
NU’s defense faltered after the intermission, surrendering 47 points on 65-percent shooting.
Wright and Strickland powered Indiana’s offense in the second half, combining for 23 points. Wright finished with 16, while Strickland had 15.
Indiana manhandled the Cats on the glass, outrebounding them 40-23. NU had just two defensive rebounds in the second half.
“We know that we have trouble,” Hachad said. “We don’t have big guys on this team, and every single guy — from T.J. to me — every single one of us has got to go out there and rebound and help our big men.”
At times, Carmody stuck with a small lineup of Young, Parker, Hachad and Evan Seacat — none is taller than 6 feet 4.
Indiana’s bench contributed 24 points, while NU’s depleted reserves scored 11. The Cats played without forward Vedran Vukusic, who is second on the team in scoring and rebounding. Vukusic hyperextended his knee Wednesday against Illinois.
Davor Duvancic, who carried the Cats with a career-high 22 points against the Fighting Illini last week, finished with six in Bloomington.
“I lost my flow,” Duvancic said. “I can’t be 7 for 10 one game and 1 for 8 another game.”
