Northwestern nearly finished what it started more than a month ago and almost made history in the process, forcing No. 1 Ohio State into overtime in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament before falling 67-61 Friday.
After dropping a one-point heartbreaker to Ohio State (30-2) in Evanston during the conference season, NU (18-13) executed a similar game plan at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. – stall the pace, shut down the perimeter, sink the late shot – and, again, gave the nation’s best team a serious scare.
A win would have marked the first time that a No. 1 seed has lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament since 2003.
“It’s a very disappointing loss,” said senior guard Michael Thompson who put up a career-high and Tournament-record 35 points in NU’s 75-65 win over Minnesota in the opening round Thursday and managed 15 points against Ohio State. “Obviously we came down here to win it, not just to play teams close but we just have to move past it. It’s definitely going to be a long bus ride back to Evanston.”
History repeated itself in unfortunate ways for the Wildcats, and NU again faltered in the clutch, ceding the pace and the free throw line in the final minutes of what would have been one of the biggest wins in program history. The loss marked the definitive end to the Cats’ NCAA Tournament dreams: NU entered the tournament needing to take home the tournament title in order to end its 71-year Big Dance drought.
“We just weren’t able to do it in the last minute of regulation and then in the overtime,” coach Bill Carmody said. “They kept throwing it down to (Jared) Sullinger, and we just weren’t able to contain him.”
Sullinger delivered yet another disconcerting dose of déjà vu for NU. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year nixed NU’s upset designs in January when he made a free throw with 3.5 seconds left to notch the 58-57 win and finish the game with 21 points.
Sullinger heated up late in the final minutes of the second half and in overtime Friday, making his final 11 free throws to finish the game with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Ten of Sullinger’s points came in the final five minutes, as Ohio State outscored NU 15-9 in overtime.
“It’s a very, very tough loss for us,” Carmody said. “As a team we did what we wanted to do going in, we executed the way we wanted to at both ends and we just weren’t quite able to get it done.”
NU played toe-to-toe with Ohio State in the opening stanza, holding the nation’s second-best 3-point shooting team, according to kenpom.com, to just 11 percent from behind the arc.
Junior forward John Shurna, who has struggled to bounce back from a high ankle sprain and concussion, turned in a healthy offensive performance after contributing just two points against Minnesota on Thursday. Shurna posted ten of his game-high 23 points in the first half.
But a 9-0 run at the end of the opening half gave the Buckeyes a 28-23 lead heading into the locker room. Neither team shot particularly well though, with NU going 7-for-21 from the field and Ohio State barely besting the Cats with a 13-for-38 performance.
Both teams posted 13 defensive rebounds in the first half but Ohio State’s 12 offensive boards to NU’s two meant the Buckeyes had ample second chances to score. It was a fortuitous half first stat: By the end of the game Ohio State would out-rebound NU 48-27.
“In the first half they got a lot of offensive rebounds, which hurt us,” Carmody said. “I thought our defense was good, but that’s part of defense.”
NU narrowed the gap in the second half but neither team led by more than three points in the final 10 minutes of the period.
“Second half I thought we played very well, we’re trying to stop their 3-point shooting and we did a pretty good job at that,” Carmody said. “That was our strategy when we played them in Evanston and again tonight.”
Courtesy of a pair of Drew Crawford free throws with less than two minutes left to play in the second half, NU took the lead 49-46.
With the game tied at 52 and less than a minute remaining in regulation, Crawford, who would finish the game with a double-double, missed an off-balance jumper from just inside the key. At the other end of the court Sullinger put up a Hail Mary shot as time expired, but missed to send the game into overtime.
It was the last time Sullinger would miss. In overtime the freshman took over, nailing10 free throws. Senior guard Jon Diebler pitched in five points for the Buckeyes in overtime.
Junior center Luka Mirkovic, better known for blowing kisses to the crowd than contesting calls, received a technical for throwing his mouth guard and raising his hands after being called for a foul on Sullinger. Mirkovic fouled out on that call and joined NU’s other primary big man Davide Curletti, who fouled out in the second half, on the bench.
The loss effectively freed Sullinger of a physical defensive presence.
“I wasn’t aware of what happened but then when I found out I approached him (Mirkovic),” Thompson said. “I told him to keep his head and keep his cool and told him that we needed him but then after that he fouled out. I was just trying to talk to him and support him a little bit.”
But foul trouble or not, NU couldn’t find its own offensive swagger and never regained the lead in overtime.
NU will find out whether or not it will earn an invite to the NIT for third-straight year Sunday night when the brackets are announced.
“It’s very disappointing that we don’t have the chance to make it to the NCAA and make it to the tournament,” Thompson said. “But it would be huge for the program to make it to the NIT. You know everyone on our team we’re not giving up. We still have a championship to be won. We still are going to focus and continue to work hard and try to win the NIT championship.”
