Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
Northwestern Falls To Indiana, 77-55
3/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 5, 2005
Box Score
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The first time Northwestern played Indiana -- a full two months ago -- the Hoosiers knocked down just five three-point shots on 16 attempts.
Roderick Wilmont matched that by himself in the first 20 minutes of Saturday's affair -- on only five attempts -- and that set the tone for the game as IU knocked off the Wildcats, 77-55. Wilmont went for a career-high 20 points, and Indiana finished with 12 treys in the game (on 20 attempts).
Northwestern (14-15, 6-10 Big Ten) came into Bloomington looking to earn a victory and move above .500 to end the regular season. Instead, the Hoosiers (15-12, 10-6) completed their first home unbeaten season against Big Ten foes since 1993-94 and became only the second conference school to achieve the feat this season. The other was No. 1 Illinois.
Northwestern was led by Vedran Vukusic with 22 points, and Mohamed Hachad with 10.
The game demonstrated how far the Hoosiers had come since their 21-point loss to Northwestern to open the conference season.
Wilmont got Indiana started early, leading a 10-2 run that gave the Hoosiers a 15-7 lead. Northwestern closed to 18-16 with a 6-0 run capped by a three-pointer from T.J. Parker, but Wilmont hit four treys in a 22-7 IU run to close the half. That made it 44-26 as the teams went into the locker room.
Indiana continued its torrid shooting early in the second half, building a 51-30 lead before Northwestern finally struck back with three-pointers from Hachad, Parker and Vukusic to close the deficit to 51-41. The Wildcats then got within 57-48, thanks to a layup by Hachad, but Indiana countered with six straight points and then pulled away.
Bracey Wright added 14 points and Robert Vaden 12 for Indiana.
Northwestern now heads to the Big Ten Tournament as the league's eighth-place team and will play Michigan in an opening-round game at 11 a.m. Thursday at the United Center in Chicago. The winner of that game faces top-ranked Illinois on Friday. Northwestern must win at least two more games to become eligible for the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
