EVANSTON, Ill. -- IU was on the losing end of history Wednesday.
Northwestern defeated IU 72-65 to win its fourth-consecutive conference game. It’s the first time since January 1967 the Wildcats have strung together a four-game streak of Big Ten wins.
The loss came, in part, thanks to a dormant offense in the second half. After being tied at 40-40 in the first half, IU’s offense accounted for just 25 points in the second half.
Meanwhile, Northwestern’s offense continued chugging along. The Wildcats were led by Tre Demps who had 23 points. Alex Olah chipped in 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
IU began to give the Wildcats trouble in the closing stages of the game with a press defense, but by then it was too late. A double-digit deficit was too much for IU to overcome and the Wildcats held on.
IU was led in scoring and rebounding by sophomore forward Troy Williams who had 21 points and 14 rebounds. Junior guard Nick Zeisloft added 12 points, all in the first half.
Free throws ultimately cost IU an opportunity as well. The Hoosiers made just 7-of-16 attempts. Northwestern made 14-of-17.
Junior guard Yogi Ferrell connected on a 3-pointer in the opening half to extend his streak of games with a made 3-pointer. He’s now at 60 games which is the longest streak in the nation.
IU has six days off before playing Iowa next Tuesday at home. The next time the Hoosiers will be away from Assembly Hall is in next month’s Big Ten Tournament.
Sam Beishuizen
