In a Northwestern victory overflowing with highlight-reel dunks, athletic blocks and a barrage of 3-pointers, it was two fundamental and trademark Jeremy Nash plays in the second half that underscored his importance to the Wildcats’ 78-61 thrashing of the Hoosiers at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday.
With just more than six minutes remaining in the game, Indiana had cut into the NU lead, which had at one time been 20 points, and the score was now 60-49. The Hoosiers’ run started five minutes earlier, immediately after senior guard Jeremy Nash picked up his fourth personal foul and was forced to the bench.
With Nash off the court and out of the Hoosiers’ passing lanes, Indiana went on an 11-2 run and was threatening the lead the Cats held all game. With 6:18 left to play, Nash and junior guard Michael Thompson checked back into the game to try and stem the bleeding.
The duo’s impact was felt instantly. Freshman forward Drew Crawford got to the basket for an easy two points, NU forced a miss at the other end, and then Nash and Thompson connected for a layup on a play that is a staple of the Cats’ Princeton offense.
The two guards were matched up on the left side of the court when Nash suddenly broke behind his defender on a backdoor cut to the basket. Thompson saw him and made a deft pass that split the two Indiana players. Nash took the ball hard to the basket, finishing with a finger-roll at the rim and drawing a foul. He hit the free throw, giving him his final total of 13 points and putting NU back up by 16 with 4:52 remaining.
Just two possessions later, though, Indiana had trimmed it to 65-53, so Nash once again took things into his own hands. He stripped Hoosiers guard Devan Dumes near midcourt, making a rough night for the senior even worse, and got the ball to sophomore forward John Shurna, who dished to Crawford on the fast break for an easy layup to put NU up 14 points. The score never got closer the rest of the way.
Nash also contributed in his more typical ways, namely on defense. He led the Cats in defensive rebounding for the third straight game and finished with 10 total boards, recording his second game in a row with double digits on the glass. He finished with two blocks, a steal and three assists, filling the stat sheet in limited action.
Nash was emblematic of the way NU played as a team on defense. It was a much more dynamic and explosive team, but Nash said it’s nothing new for these Cats.
“It was just us playing basketball like we know we can play,” he said. “I know we can challenge any team in the country, and that’s how we went into the game. We can play with them, and we can beat them. “
Due to foul trouble, Nash was the only Cats starter who didn’t play at least 30 minutes, but he made his floor time count. With Nash in the game, NU beat up on Indiana by a 65-33 margin. But while he was on the bench, the Hoosiers more than doubled up on the Cats, outscoring NU 28-13.
In the first half, when Nash was confined to the sidelines due to fouls, Indiana was able to hit some shots and go on a minor run late in the first half. Coach Bill Carmody noticed the lag on defense, and inserted Nash back into the game just a few minutes later.
“It got a little hairy in the last five minutes,” Carmody said. “When you’re playing at this level teams go on runs. But (Junior Mike) Capocci got that stuff there at the end, and that really helped us.”
Nash’s defensive effect was not lost on Indiana coach Tom Crean either, who noted that his team “didn’t have a good start… but we did a lot of good things at the 15-14 minute mark” when Nash was on the bench.
Nash said he was pleased with NU’s recent play, but maintained the team still has room for improvement.
“We can get better,” he said. “We know that our best is yet to come, and we still have room to grow.”[email protected]
