Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
Northwestern Rolls Over Indiana, 73-52
1/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2005
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Mike Thompson scored a career-high 18 points and Vedran Vukusic added 17 to lead Northwestern to a 73-52 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
However, while the two biggest players in NU's starting lineup were the ones who racked up the points and the stats, the story of this game came from the smallest player on the floor -- the one who made his first career start.
Senior walk-on Michael Jenkins started at point guard for the Wildcats in place of T.J. Parker Wednesday night, who was forced out with the flu. All Jenkins did -- all 5-foot-9 of him -- was score eight points including two key three-pointers in the second half, snare a team-leading seven rebounds, and collect two steals in 36 minutes of play.
By the time the game was over, many in the crowd of 7,001 were calling out his name.
"Michael Jenkins has to be the story tonight," said NU head coach Bill Carmody. "The guy is a walk-on, and he did not know he would be starting tonight until about 15 minutes before game time. He played well."
Northwestern (8-5, 1-0) won for the fourth game in a row and the seventh time in eight games. In addition, the win was the Wildcats' first in a Big Ten opener since the 1982-83 season.
NU also defeated Indiana (5-7, 0-1) for the third straight season at Welsh-Ryan Arena, a first since the 1968-70 seasons. It was the Wildcats' most lopsided win over the Hoosiers since a 40-16 victory way back in 1914.
"I thought it was our best game of the year," said Carmody. "We played well -- we did not turn the ball over, and we were able to get good looks at the basket and make them. Defensively, we were able to create some turnovers and we were a presence. We made them aware of us."
NU committed just seven turnovers in the game and shot 52 percent from the field. The 'Cats also collected a season-high 11 steals (forcing 18 IU turnovers) and snared 12 offensive rebounds.
Northwestern was down three early in the game, but used a 12-3 run to get out to an 18-12 lead. That advantage moved to eight by halftime.
Early in the second half, Indiana got within 34-29 with D.J. White's dunk, but Northwestern responded with a 9-3 run. Jenkins started it with his first three-pointer, then after two free throws by Vukusic, Indiana turned the ball over in its own backcourt. Mohamed Hachad picked up the loose ball and passed it to Vukusic, who finished with a dunk, giving the Wildcats a 43-32 lead with 13:00 left and sending the Welsh-Ryan faithful into a frenzy.
After A.J. Ratliff hit his fourth consecutive trey and Bracey Wright -- the Big Ten's leading scorer entering the contest -- hit a jumper for Indiana, Northwestern effectively ended it by rolling off nine straight points. Thompson had four points in the span, and Hachad hit two free throws to give the Wildcats a 52-37 advantage with 8:42 left.
Vukusic and Vince Scott hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute to make it 73-52.
Ratliff finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and White had 12 points. Wright scored just seven points and took just seven shots in the game, as Hachad was effective face-guarding him on defense.
After playing four games in a row and eight of its last nine at home, Northwestern is on the road for the next two Big Ten games. The first one comes Saturday at No. 20/19 Michigan State, which easily defeated Penn State tonight in its Big Ten opener.
