Hoosiers dominate Northwestern, improve to 7-0 in conference play
By TYLER SMITH
ISL Editor
(Courtesy of IU Athletics/Mike Dickbernd)
BLOOMINGTON — For the first time since 1993, the Indiana Hoosiers have started conference play with seven straight victories. They blasted Northwestern on Saturday by a final score of 89-57 in front of a sell-out crowd at Assembly Hall.
Lop-sided victories at home have become the norm for this Indiana team. They’ve defeated three straight opponents at home by 25 or more points for the first time since the 1987-88 season.
Just four days prior, the Northwestern Wildcats took Maryland to overtime on the road. Playing at Assembly Hall, however, was a much different story. Indiana started the game on a 10-0 run, and never trailed.
The Hoosiers put together a balanced attack- eight different players had at least seven points. Senior guard Yogi Ferrell led the way with 17 points, and six assists. Ferrell moved into 10th place on the all-time Indiana scoring list. He is just 10 points behind Christian Watford for ninth on the list.
Fellow senior Max Bielfeldt added 13 points and grabbed four rebounds. Indiana once again lit up the world from three, as they connected on 13-of-28 from behind the arc.
“We knew we were going to have to move without the ball a lot more without James (Blackmon),” Coach Tom Crean said. “Our guys are cutting and moving hard, and making the extra pass. That’s when we’re at our best.”
Crean added: “Our guys have a great respect for their opponent. When you have that, it’s a good thing. Our guys are really locked in to getting better.”
The Hoosiers led 43-26 at halftime, but came out just as strong in the second half, outscoring Northwestern 46-31 in the final 20 min
utes.
The 3-point makes are important, and fun to watch. But it’s been Indiana’s defense that has given the Hoosiers a huge advantage in conference play. “We have a lot of confidence defensively,” Yogi Ferrell said. “For us to play loose out there, it’s us getting down and getting stops. We know we can be better, and we’re definitely going to need that defensive mindset to win on the road.”
Much has been made about the weaker schedule for Indiana in the early going. They will have a big test playing in Wisconsin on Tuesday night, as they look to remain unbeaten in the Big Ten.
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