No. 2 Indiana 67, Northwestern 59

EVANSTON, Illinois- For the second straight game, Indiana saw its opponent dictate the pace of the game, Northwestern slowing the game into half-court matchups.

This time, though, the Hoosiers beat their foe at its own game.

IU defeated Northwestern 67-59 Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena after stifling the Wildcats into miss after miss and dominating the ensuing rebounds in the first half, then riding out a sloppy second half to remain undefeated in Big Ten road games this season.

IU never trailed after a 4-3 deficit 1:56 in. The team reeled off 10 consecutive points following that moment to take a lead that never dipped below seven points from that point on and reached as many as 17 points in the first half.

While IU's shooting was not particularly accurate through the first half, the Hoosiers held Northwestern to 7-for-27 from the field and 1-for-9 from 3-point range.

For much of the game, Fort Wayne native Reggie Hearn seemed to be the sole Wildcat immune to his team's shooting woes. His 22 points easily paced Northwestern.

Northwestern had 17 points at the half, the fewest points allowed in a half by IU since Jan. 27, 2011 in a home win against Illinois.

Senior forward Christian Watford figured prominently on both ends of the court, leading IU with 11 points on offense and allowing few easy shots playing both in the paint and out toward the perimeter.

Sophomore forward Cody Zeller missed several shots early, but staked his presence on the glass, his eight boards at halftime already more than his season average. He finished with 13 as IU won the rebounding battle 36-24.

As the lead grew, senior guard Jordan Hulls joined the fray as well, seemingly rediscovering his shooting touch to the tune of seven points in the first half as the IU lead continued to balloon.

The Wildcats threatened to claw back into the game as the second half opened with a flurry of Hoosier fouls and improved shooting and rebounding from Northwestern.

However, Zeller scored six of IU's first 10 points in the period and keep the lead in double digits. Following several misses on questionable shot selection early, he ended up with 21 points after an 8-for-8 second half from the free throw line.

An IU shooting slump of its own, from both the field and foul line, saw a 16 point lead evaporate down to 6 as the offense lacked the rhythm to set up proper plays, instead improvising with little success.

Meanwhile, Northwestern found its outside touch, connecting on 5-of-7 shots from 3-point range after its abysmal first half performance.

Hulls in particularly struggled during the Northwestern comeback, missing three free throws and missing on several open looks.

Yet with the lead hovering at five points with 1:31 seconds remaining, it was Hulls who blew past his defender then pulled up for a midrange jumper.

Looking to exploit his recent free throw struggles, Northwestern fouled him twce in the next 57 seconds. He made all four shots, putting to bed the game once and for all.

Though indeed a true road game, the Chicago stronghold of IU fans made themselves known, appearing to outnumber the home crowd and responding each Northwestern with a louder pro-Hoosier yell.