COLUMBUS, Ohio – The collective sigh of relief practically could be heard all the way from Evanston, but Vedran Vukusic was in no mood to celebrate.
Northwestern (12-12, 4-8 Big Ten) suffered another second-half lapse in its fourth loss in five conference games, but the Wildcats didn’t have to search too long for consolation during Saturday’s 61-52 defeat at Ohio State (19-4, 8-4). Vukusic was back in the starting lineup after missing last week’s game against Illinois with back pain.
The senior forward, who leads the Big Ten with 20.1 points per game, posted 17 points and six rebounds against the Buckeyes. Before the game, Vukusic came onto the court early to work with the team trainer on stretching and warming up his back. He said he felt “great” after playing 36 minutes, and the injury is “over.”
Still, NU coach Bill Carmody said his star forward looked tentative at times and didn’t move as well as usual. Vukusic made only one of his seven 3-point attempts and had five turnovers.
“He played a lot of minutes for not having touched a ball in a week,” Carmody said. “Considering that, he played real well. But he wasn’t able to cut and do some of the things. He seemed to be a little hesitant about bumping. He was falling on the floor a lot, so I think he was trying to avoid a little bit of contact.”
In his first game action since Feb. 11, Vukusic struggled on the perimeter and didn’t assert himself in the offense until midway through the second half. The 6-foot-8 forward – one of the best pure shooters in the conference – missed his first six outside shots before connecting on a 3-pointer seven minutes into the second half.
After that shot, Vukusic looked more like the player who has scored a league-high 34 percent of his team’s points. He hit three more jumpers – including a tough mid-range bank shot – and added a layup to finish 8-of-18 from the field. Vukusic, who also had four assists and three blocks, was less than satisfied with his return.
The Cats were in position to steal a road win at No. 12 Ohio State, trailing by a basket with three minutes left. But Vukusic and guard Evan Seacat missed back-to-back 3-pointers, while Buckeyes forward Terence Dials grabbed three offensive rebounds that led to six points.
“It just came down to us not boxing out in the end or turning the ball over,” Vukusic said. “It’s starting to get frustrating. Everybody’s saying we’re competing. We’re supposed to compete. We’re athletes. We love to play basketball. But it sometimes is not enough.”
When pressed for a reason for the second-half collapses, Vukusic said he had no answers – except the whole team is to blame.
“When it comes to that time, somebody has to make a play,” Vukusic said. “It’s not always me or Mohamed (Hachad).
“I don’t know. I guess maybe we lose our concentration for a little bit, which shouldn’t happen. But it just does. It’s hard to explain.”
Reach The Gerald Tang at [email protected].
