We’ve all seen this rodeo before. Northwestern plays a superior opponent tough for 90 percent of the game, gets the announcers and Wildcat faithful to believe that just maybe this will be the game, that decisive victory, before losing in painful fashion. The game Wednesday night was no exception, as NU lost at Indiana 71-66.
The numbers:
29 – The number of points John Shurna valiantly put up for the ‘Cats. Shurna played the whole game – not unusual for him – and essentially carried Northwestern’s offense. He mixed in post-ups and aggressive drives to the basket that complemented his usual barrage of threes. He really was the only reason NU was in the game until the final minutes. Of course, he wasn’t helped much by…
1 – The number of points contributed by Northwestern’s bench. That point came on a lonely free throw from the previously M.I.A. sophomore, JerShon Cobb. Of course, Cobb, senior Davide Curletti and senior Nick Freundt were the only subs who played. They logged a grand total of 28 minutes between them, but they didn’t even manage to attempt a single shot combined. Northwestern is top-heavy as is, but it will certainly be difficult to win games with a virtually non-existent bench.
10 – The number of offensive rebounds Indiana grabbed, and boy, did it seem like more than that. The Hoosiers harassed Northwestern on the glass all night, and every defensive possession where NU came down with a rebound felt like a small miracle. The Wildcats have been hounded on the boards all season, and that will keep them from knocking off good teams as long as it persists.
Sixth man of the game: Verdell Jones III
Not a lot of competition here, thanks to NU’s aforementioned shot-less bench. The senior put up six points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals, and generally contributed to his team’s success on the court – which is more than can be said for Northwestern’s bench players.
Player of the game: John Shurna
It’s tempting to say Cody Zeller. The IU freshman forward put up 23 points and seven rebounds on 9-11 shooting. In fact, he’s shooting 65 percent on the year, which basically puts him in a league with the aliens from Space Jam right after they steal Patrick Ewing’s mojo. Still, the player of the game has to be Shurna simply because he absolutely dragged his team to the finish line. Zeller was extremely efficient, but he did miss some time due to foul trouble.
Where does Northwestern stand?
Well, the good news is no one really expected Northwestern to win in Bloomington. The bad news is this loss drops the ‘Cats to 5-8 in Big Ten play and further hampers their chances at finally making it to the NCAA tournament. To finish .500 in conference play, NU will have to go 4-1 to finish the season, and that means beating two out of Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio State. The one redeeming factor? All three of those games are at home.