Indiana Beats Northwestern, 71-56, In Big Ten Second Round
CHICAGO (AP) -- James Blackmon Jr. scored 25 points, Yogi Ferrell added 17 and Indiana boosted its NCAA hopes with a 71-56 victory over Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday.
The Hoosiers rolled to an easy win after dropping three in a row and eight of 12. With fans calling for coach Tom Crean's job in recent weeks, Indiana (20-12) jumped out to a big lead in the early going and withstood a push by Northwestern (15-17) in the second half.
Blackmon, a freshman, finished one point short of his career high. He also had seven assists and six rebounds. Ferrell had five assists. Troy Williams grabbed 12 rebounds and three blocks, and the Hoosiers dominated the Wildcats 42-25 on the glass.
Bryant McIntosh led Northwestern with 13 points. Alex Olah scored 12 but shot just 3 of 10. Vic Law had just four points, and the Wildcats came up short after winning five of seven.
After losing at Northwestern 2 1/2 weeks earlier, Indiana led by as much as 18 while building a 36-22 halftime lead.
Blackmon scored 13, while Ferrell added 10 points. The Hoosiers outrebounded the Wildcats 25-14 in the half, pulling down 13 on the offensive end, and held them without a field goal for 9 1/2 minutes during one stretch.
Northwestern got as close as 11 in the second half. But Blackmon hit two 3s during an 8-2 run that bumped Indiana's lead 57-40 with 7:28 remaining.
There was a scary moment for Indiana midway through the half when Hanner Mosquera-Perea crashed to the floor and came up clutching his right knee, which already had a brace. He was trying to score inside when his knee hit the back of a prone Olah, causing Mosquera-Perea to flip onto his back. He stayed down for several minutes and was helped to the sideline.
Indiana dominated at the start, jumping out to a 24-6 lead behind 10 points by Blackmon. And as bad as that score looked, it only told part of the story. The Wildcats missed 12 in a row after making their first two shots and went 9 1/2 minutes without a basket.
TIP-INS
Northwestern: The Wildcats had won eight of 12 against Indiana before this game.
Indiana: Ferrell hit three 3-pointers to extend his school-record streak with at least one to 63 games.
UP NEXT
Northwestern: Season likely over.
Indiana: Plays Maryland in the quarterfinals Friday.
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