National Basketball Association
Indiana 71, Northwestern 66
When: 6:30 PM ET, Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Where: Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
Officials:
# Pat Driscoll, # Ed Hightower, # Gene Steratore
Attendance:
17246
By SportsDirect Inc.
INDIANA 71, NORTHWESTERN 66: Verdell Jones III returned from injury and made three critical baskets down the stretch as the No. 20 Hoosiers held on at home.
Jones, who had missed the previous two games with a bruised shoulder, was scoreless until he hit back-to-back buckets to break a 63-63 tie and give the Hoosiers (20-6, 8-6 Big Ten) a four-point lead with 2:53 left.
Northwestern got back within two, but Jones iced it when he hit a long jumper with 31 seconds remaining to make it 71-65.
Cody Zeller paced Indiana with 23 points and seven rebounds.
The Wildcats (15-10, 5-8), who were desperately seeking a big road win to boost hopes for their first NCAA Tournament bid, hung tough throughout thanks largely to the exploits of John Shurna. The senior forward poured in a game-high 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting, forcing the game's final deadlock on a three-point play with 4:19 left.
Despite struggling offensively in the first half, Indiana went into the break with a 37-31 edge before the Wildcats scored the first eight points of the second half to take the lead. Another 9-0 spurt gave the visitors a 54-49 lead with 11:18 left.
Drew Crawford added 18 points for Northwestern.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Indiana shot 54 percent in the second half. ... Northwestern, the nation's leader in assist-turnover ratio coming in, committed eight turnovers during the first half and finished with 13 giveaways against only nine assists. ... The Wildcats host Minnesota on Saturday, while the Hoosiers travel to Iowa on Sunday.
Top Game Performances
| Northwestern |
|
Indiana |
|
John Shurna 29 |
Scoring |
Cody Zeller 23 |
|
Davide Curletti 2 |
Assists |
Verdell Jones III 4 |
|
Drew Crawford 5 |
Rebounds |
Cody Zeller 7 |
|
John Shurna 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Cody Zeller 5 |
|
Alex Marcotullio 2 |
Steals |
Verdell Jones III 2 |
|
John Shurna 2 |
Blocks |
Verdell Jones III 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Northwestern
|
66 |
49.0 |
6-20 |
12-17 |
9 |
21 |
3 |
6 |
12 |
| Indiana
|
71 |
49.1 |
2-13 |
15-18 |
16 |
29 |
2 |
7 |
8 |