Wildcats Leave No Doubt With Resounding Win Over Hoosiers

1/29/2017 7:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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McIntosh paces Northwestern with 21 points, 8 assists

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Junior Bryant McIntosh scored a team-high 21 points and added eight assists and Northwestern held visiting Indiana to just 32 percent shooting in front of a sellout crowd inside Welsh Arena to earn its sixth-straight Big Ten win Sunday night, 68-55.

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Vic Law paired nine points and matched his career high with 12 boards, and Sanjay Lumpkin needed just six shots to score 15 points, a season high.

The 'Cats improved to 7-2 in conference play, their best nine-game start since 1937-38. Northwestern is also 18-4 overall, the best 22-game start in school history.

NU's six straight Big Ten wins are the most since the 1932-33 team won seven in a row.

Indiana's sharp early defense propelled the Hoosiers to a 10-1 lead while Northwestern struggled to find open looks. As the 'Cats came up on five minutes without a field goal, Scottie Lindsey found a cutting Lumpkin, who laid in Northwestern's first basket. The 'Cats closed the gap to 10-7 heading into the first media timeout.

After the break, NU used a stellar defensive stretch of its own to pull ahead. During a 20-2 run spanning almost eight minutes, NU held Indiana without a basket and got scoring contributions from six different players.

Near the end of the run, Lumpkin brought the sold-out crowd to its feet when he stole the ball on an inbounds pass and drove the length of the court for a dunk. Nathan Taphorn's corner three-pointer on the next possession extended NU's lead to seven.

The Hoosiers offense reemerged after they called a 30-second timeout just before the eight-minute mark, but triples from Law and McIntosh — who swished a deep shot from the wing with 4:10 left to put NU ahead 29-18 — kept the 'Cats comfortably ahead.

By halftime, McIntosh had 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, with five assists, and Northwestern led 35-23. The 'Cats outscored Indiana 34-13 after falling behind 10-1, holding the Hoosiers to 8-of-25 shooting and just eight points in the paint.

Northwestern came into Sunday's contest with the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation, and finished the first half with eight assists and a pair of turnovers. Meanwhile, they capitalized on 10 Indiana turnovers for 15 points.

The 'Cats quickly opened up a 16-point lead, their largest of the game, thanks to another well-balanced scoring run. Lumpkin found space on the wing for a wide-open three, and McIntosh scored four early points to put NU in front 44-28 less than five minutes into the second half.

Northwestern's defense, which came in limiting opponents to 38.6 percent shooting, continued to force Indiana to take outside shots. The Hoosiers began the half 3-of-13 from the floor and registered just two points in the paint until Davis' layup made it 49-36 with 10:39 left.

Lumpkin came up with another highlight reel play just before the nine-minute mark, when he drove from the arc and used a couple well-timed pump fakes to spin Thomas Bryant to the floor for an easy layup.

Minutes later, McIntosh nailed his second three of the game, and Northwestern's lead was back up to 16 with 7:28 to go. The 'Cats never let Indiana within more than 12 points, and finished with a decisive 68-55 win.

NU next travels to Purdue to take on the Boilermakers at 7:30 p.m. CT on February 1 before returning home to face Illinois at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Northwestern Notes vs. Indiana
Jan. 29, 2017
• Northwestern runs its Big Ten winning streak to six straight games. It's the school's longest conference winning streak since the 1932-33 season when that team matched a school record with seven league wins in a row.
• The Wildcats' 7-2 start to the conference season is its best since the 1937-38 team opened with the same mark.
• Northwestern improves to 30-5 in last 35 home games at Welsh-Ryan Arena dating back to the 2014-15 season.
• The Wildcats are now 5-2 in their last seven home games against Indiana.
• Northwestern held Indiana to 23 first-half points, a low in a half for the Hoosiers this season. The previous low was 25 in the second half against Michigan Jan. 26. Indiana's previous low for points in a first half this season was 27 against Louisville Dec. 31.
• Northwestern held Indiana to a season-low .321 field goal percentage. The Hoosiers' previous low was .322 vs. Louisville Dec. 31.
• Vic Law matched a career high with 12 rebounds. He also recorded 12 rebounds at Penn State Dec. 27, 2016. It is his third double-figure rebounding game of his career.
• Bryant McIntosh scored a team-high 21 points for Northwestern. It is the fifth 20-point game of the season for the Indiana native and the 11^th of his career.
• McIntosh recorded 8 assists in the contest. He entered the game leading the Big Ten with an average of 5.6 assists per game.
• Northwestern held Indiana to a season-low 55 points. The Hoosiers' previous low was 60 at Michigan Jan. 26.
• Sanjay Lumpkin tied a career high with 15 points. He also scored 15 at Brown Nov. 17, 2014.
• Lumpkin moved into a tie with Dave Sobolewski (2012-15) for sixth place in school history with the 123^rd game played of his career.