With the clock ticking down and the tension heating up in Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday, senior Craig Moore stepped to the free-throw line and calmly drained a pair of free throws with six seconds left to give the Wildcats a win over Indiana.
On Saturday, with time running out and pressure mounting, Moore was once again called on to seal a Northwestern win at the foul line. This time, Moore nailed six free throws in the final 15.6 seconds to clinch NU’s 66-63 victory over Wisconsin. Before each shot, Moore went through the same routine at the line.
“I’m just taking deep breaths when I’m there,” Moore said. “I feel like when I relax my muscles it should be easy.”
Moore made it look easy all game long, scoring 26 points and hitting all eight of his free throws.
“I feel like my team is confident in me,” Moore said. The Cats (12-7, 4-5 Big Ten) were clutch down the stretch, making all 10 of their free throws in the final five minutes of the game. But early on, NU struggled from the line. The Cats hit only two of seven free throws in the first-half, while the Badgers (12-9, 3-6) hit all nine of their first-half attempts from the charity stripe.
“They made every foul shot and we were missing all ours,” coach Bill Carmody said. “It’s a close game and clearly that was a concern.”
The Cats started slowly from the line in the second half as well, making only six of their first 11 free throws. Freshman Luka Mirkovic started NU’s hot streak when he hit a pair with just more than four minutes left in the game.
After a 12-for-12 start, Wisconsin was unable to deliver at the foul line in the game’s final minutes. Trevon Hughes missed two key free throws late in the game for the Badgers, who finished 16-for-19 from the foul line.
“We only missed a few (free throws),” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. “Unfortunately, they were down in the last five minutes.”
In the final 16 seconds of the game, with Wisconsin fouling NU immediately, the Cats concentrated on getting the ball to Moore, an 80.4 percent free throw shooter. Sophomore Michael Thompson was able to find Moore with an inbound pass on the Cats’ final three possessions even though Wisconsin was trying to keep the ball out of his hands.
“He was going to get the ball at the end if we had anything to do with it,” Carmody said. “And he did and he banged them (in).”
“I don’t know if I’m the go-to guy, the closer,” Moore said. “But it feels good that the team relies on me and I can help them in a way. Especially on free throws in the end, if we’ve got the lead, I feel like I can put the nail in the coffin.”
