CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Lost in Northwestern’s 24-point blowout of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne last Saturday was Vince Scott’s seemingly pedestrian stat line: five points on 2-of-2 shooting with one 3-pointer.
The one 3-pointer, however, may prove to be a season-changer for the junior center.
Scott, who had made no 3-point attempts in the Wildcats’ 10 Big Ten games before Wednesday’s conference matchup against Illinois, hit all three of his 3-point attempts, as the Cats (12-11, 4-7 Big Ten) lost 63-47 to the Illini (21-4, 7-4).
“I think the shot the game before carried over to this game,” said Scott, who was second in 3-point percentage during Big Ten play last season, making 49 percent of his 3’s. “Making shots obviously boosts confidence.
“I’ve had that form my whole life. So it’s not the form that was causing problems.”
During Wednesday’s game, Scott hardly looked like a player who had suffered from a season-long shooting slump.
On the Cats’ second possession of the second half, Scott coolly drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key. He then returned to the same spot midway through the second half, hitting back-to-back 3’s to cap a 12-2 NU run to bring the Cats within three points with 8:09 remaining.
“It was good to see Vince Scott come back from the dead,” junior forward Tim Doyle said.
Of the 10 Big Ten games before Illinois, Scott had gone scoreless in seven of them, and, with 11 points on Wednesday, he came within one point of equaling his entire scoring total in conference play.
After making two of his four 3-pointers against Lehigh in the season-opener in November, Scott made just 3 of 23 shots from beyond the arc in the next 21 games before playing Illinois.
“He made shots all last year for us,” NU coach Bill Carmody said. “It’s about time he made some shots. He’s had those shots open all year.”
Carmody had described Scott’s shooting problems as “neck-up issues,” referring to his struggles with confidence. Because of his shooting woes, Scott saw his playing time decrease during the Big Ten season.
But Scott said he hopes Wednesday’s game will give him that confidence boost to help him as NU heads into its final five games of the regular season.
“Tonight was an opportunity for me to step up personally,” Scott said. “I was pleased with my performance. Hopefully making these shots will carry over for the rest of the season.”
Reach Scott Duncan at [email protected].
