Northwestern may have been an errant pass away from the biggest upset in program history.
With 16 seconds left and the score tied, David Lighty picked off an Alex Marcotullio pass intended for JerShon Cobb. On the Buckeyes’ ensuing possession, freshman phenom Jared Sullinger put in the game-winning free throw, giving top-ranked Ohio State the 58-57 victory.
“We just wanted to get a shot and we didn’t get a shot,” said coach Bill Carmody of NU’s second-to-last possession. “I’m disappointed as hell.”
Following Sullinger’s free throw, sophomore forward Drew Crawford missed a long three as the clock expired.
“We were trying to throw it into the middle of the court to Drew and then have me run long and Drew try to find me,” senior guard Michael Thompson said. “But Drew didn’t have any angles to throw it to me because they had Diebler in front of me and Craft behind me so Drew had to try to shoot a shot and hope for the best.”
The Wildcats were playing without junior forward John Shurna, who suffered a concussion at Minnesota earlier this week. Thompson led the Cats with 16 points and eight rebounds. Shurna’s replacement, senior forward Mike Capocci, played just 24 minutes but finished second on the team with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
In order to counter the conference’s top offense, Carmody and the Cats did all they could to slow the pace of the game, and NU bled the clock whenever it had the ball. As a result the Cats held the Buckeyes to 58 points, tying a season low.
With Ohio State’s hot shooting-the Buckeyes finished the game with a 57 percent clip from the floor- and NU’s lackluster night -the Cats hit just 40 percent of their shots, NU relied on the long ball to keep the game close. The Cats put up 30 attempts from beyond the arc, connecting on nine. Meanwhile the Buckeyes, one of the best three-point-shooting teams in the conference, only took eight threes.
Maybe the most bizarre stat of the night came on the boards. Not only did NU outrebound Ohio State, the rebounding margin wasn’t close. The Buckeyes only pulled down 20 rebounds to the Cats’ 31.
Now NU has a week to prepare for its next tough test, a home date with in-state rival Illinois next Saturday.
“We just have to come back to practice and continue to work hard, watch some film and learn from our mistakes,” Thompson said. “There’s definitely a lot to take away from this game.”
Be sure to read our full story in Monday’s paper.
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