While most of their fellow college students dozed Saturday morning, Northwestern players were breaking a sweat during their 7 a.m. shootaround. They were loosening up for an early game against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), an independent school with an 0-3 record against Big Ten teams this season.
IPFW has a first-year head coach and no seniors on its roster. The Mastodons also were missing injured forward Tyler Best, their lone post presence and leading rebounder. All things considered, this was exactly the type of game the Wildcats have overlooked in the past – and they knew it.
“This game had trouble written all over it,” said junior forward Tim Doyle. “We just came out and buried them. It was never really a contest.”
The Wildcats (12-10, 4-6 Big Ten) opened the game with an 11-2 run and never trailed in a 73-49 win at Welsh-Ryan Arena. NU led by as many as 30 in the second half when forward Sterling Williams converted a layup to cap a 12-0 run.
About the only suspense during the afternoon came when an IPFW player’s shot bounced over the backboard and the ball was lodged behind the shot clock. An NU cheerleader was lifted to retrieve it.
The Cats did not even make a basket in the final six-and-a-half minutes – mostly with bench players in the game – and still won by 24. The performance had IPFW coach Dane Fife calling NU a “juggernaut.” Overstatement aside, the Cats shot 57 percent from the field and 52 percent from the 3-point line while forcing 19 turnovers.
“For a game in the middle of the conference schedule, I was about as pleased as you can be,” coach Bill Carmody said. “Shooting is such a key element in this game, and for one night we were able to knock them down, a lot of different guys.”
NU set a school record with eight players connecting on 3-pointers. Three players scored in double figures, and senior forward Vedran Vukusic was not one of them. The Big Ten’s leading scorer tallied nine points in 26 minutes. More important, he was afforded a rest from carrying the team during a grueling part of the schedule.
“I feel bad for him,” said Doyle, who posted game-highs of 14 points and seven assists. “This game we kind of screwed up his scoring average by him getting nine. I joked to him, it’s our turn to score.”
Back in the starting lineup for the second straight game, Doyle sparked the offense from the outset.
The 6-foot-5 swingman was on pace for a triple-double at halftime, with 10 points, six assists and five rebounds. The Cats shot 74 percent in the first half and hit 7-of-11 3-pointers.
After the Mastodons (7-16) cut their early deficit to 22-21, NU pulled away for good with a 26-8 run during the last nine minutes of the first half. The stretch included 12 unanswered points by the Cats, whose energy was evident in hustle plays, defections and hounding defense.
In one sequence, senior guard Mohamed Hachad and Doyle dove to the floor for a steal, and Hachad hit a 3-pointer on the other end to push the lead into double-digits. Minutes later, Williams wrestled for a loose ball on the floor with an 18-point lead in the first half.
Carmody said he also was impressed with the active play and post defense of center Bernard Cote, who finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
“We tend to underestimate our opponents sometimes,” Cote said. “We came out strong. Guys were diving for loose balls and hustle plays. That’s why the game wasn’t that close. We didn’t underestimate those guys.”
Reach Gerald Tang at [email protected].
