It’s had a disappointing start to the 2018-19 season, but Northwestern can start its first Big Ten winning streak and perhaps begin to turn its season around with a win over Indiana at Welsh-Ryan Arena tonight. The Wildcats (11-7, 2-5 B1G, 59 Kenpom) are coming off a road win over Rutgers, while the Hoosiers (12-6, 3-4, 36) have lost four in a row. Indiana won 68-66 when these teams met in Bloomington in the conference opener. NU will be rocking its Gothic uniforms tonight, and will be without freshman Pete Nance. Pete Nance will not play tonight (illness) vs. Indiana and he will not be on the bench. He is out indefinitely. #B1GCats | #PoundTheRock — (@NUMensBball) January 23, 2019 Make sure you know how to watch and join us in the comments below as the game unfolds.<doc-sep>Who? Indiana Hoosiers (12-6 (3-4), #36 KenPom) vs Northwestern Wildcats (11-7 (2-5), #59 KenPom) When? Tuesday, 1/22/19 9:00 P.M., Welsh-Ryan Arena Channel? BTN Vegas? Wildcats -1.5, o/u 135 KenPom? Northwestern by 1, 67-66 (not nice), 52% chance of Wildcat Victory The last time these two teams matched up in Evanston was two years ago, in January 2017. Tom Crean was still coach for IU, Northwestern was in the midst of its first-ever run to the NCAA Tournament, Welsh-Ryan hadn’t yet been renovated. It was also a pivotal moment in IU basketball online history: The “call out screens” game. Two years later, the Wildcats have failed to capitalize on their March Madness bid, and are back to their usual place in the bottom half of the conference. When your defining image of the season is your coach Having A Normal One on all fours, you know it hasn’t been a great year. Meanwhile, IU returns to Northwestern after beating the Wildcats 68-66 in their B1G opener at Assembly Hall. Indiana comes into this one on a 4-game losing streak and its only other conference wins on the season against Illinois and Penn State. And it’s not going to get much easier tonight. I am hearing that Indiana guard Devonte Green did not make the trip to Northwestern and will not not play in tonight's Big Ten game. #iubb — Jeff Rabjohns (@JeffRabjohns) January 22, 2019 Devonte Green is OUT for tonight’s game, and the rumor around the internets is he might also be facing a three-game suspension. The Hoosiers are likely to address this soon before tip, but regardless of your feelings on Green’s play this season, this leaves the Hoosiers with one fewer player in the already injury-riddled lineup. Indiana’s woes on offense will also be tested by Northwestern tonight, whose defense ranks 37th on KenPom this season. Like Indiana, the Wildcats have had trouble scoring the ball though — the 66 they scored at IU has been their highest point total of conference play. Things to Watch For Romeo wherefore art thou? — Romeo Langford had his worst game of the season on Saturday at Purdue, scoring only four points, giving up a few costly turnovers, and missing almost all of the first half after committing two early fouls. If the Hoosiers want any chance at winning this game, they’ll need to get Romeo more involved from the start, and probably will want at least 20 points from him. — Romeo Langford had his worst game of the season on Saturday at Purdue, scoring only four points, giving up a few costly turnovers, and missing almost all of the first half after committing two early fouls. If the Hoosiers want any chance at winning this game, they’ll need to get Romeo more involved from the start, and probably will want at least 20 points from him. How resilient are these Hoosiers? — They’ve lost the last four games and have Michigan and Michigan State on the horizon. This is as close to a “must-win” game as Indiana has had this season. With Green out, they’ll need to find help wherever they can. And Archie Miller will need to make adjustments on the offensive side of the ball. Right now Indiana ranks 11th of 14 in offense for Big Ten games, averaging only 0.83 PPP in its last two. Justin Smith stepped up in the Purdue game — who will help out tonight? They’ve lost the last four games and have Michigan and Michigan State on the horizon. This is as close to a “must-win” game as Indiana has had this season. With Green out, they’ll need to find help wherever they can. And Archie Miller will need to make adjustments on the offensive side of the ball. Right now Indiana ranks 11th of 14 in offense for Big Ten games, averaging only 0.83 PPP in its last two. Justin Smith stepped up in the Purdue game — who will help out tonight? Avoiding the sleepy start — other than the Maryland game, IU has been stymied by slow starts to games this season. It would be nice if the Hoosiers weren’t in a double-digit hole to start a game again, and the late weeknight tip in one of the smaller B1G arenas concerns me. — other than the Maryland game, IU has been stymied by slow starts to games this season. It would be nice if the Hoosiers weren’t in a double-digit hole to start a game again, and the late weeknight tip in one of the smaller B1G arenas concerns me. Medieval Times unis back for Northwestern: Prediction Unfortunately, I can’t predict this Hoosier team to win a game right now with everything that’s transpired over the past couple weeks. Northwestern will attempt to slow the game down, and if Indiana can’t get enough shots up, this one won’t end well. Hope I’m wrong! Northwestern 60, Indiana 55<doc-sep>
File it under “things absolutely no one saw coming.” Having played in just three games all year (with six points, all against Chicago State), senior wing Aaron Falzon exploded for a career-high 21 points against Indiana on Tuesday night. The Newton, Mass. native went 6-for-7 from beyond the arc, igniting the Welsh-Ryan Arena crowd and leading Northwestern to a 73-66 victory over Indiana. Falzon broke 20 points for just the third time in his career, over three years after last doing so in his freshman year. Dererk Pardon added 17 points, including scoring his 1000th point on a free throw. AJ Turner and Anthony Gaines led the Wildcats (12-7, 3-5 B1G) with six assists each. The Wildcat defense held Romeo Langford to 12 points, after he scored 20 when Northwestern traveled to Bloomington in December. Juwan Morgan’s 18 points led the Hoosiers (12-7, 3-5), who dropped their fifth straight conference contest. After a sluggish start to the game, Northwestern bounced back through the hot hand of Falzon. Both teams started slow on the offensive end, with the Wildcats quickly falling behind 14-6. Northwestern began the game having difficulty moving the ball and getting any sort of penetration (sound familiar? ), often times settling for contested three pointers. The Cats started 1-for-8 from beyond the arc. In Falzon, Northwestern found their offensive catalyst; he ended the half shooting 3-of-4 from deep and led a 15-4 Northwestern run to give the Wildcats a four-point lead at halftime. Northwestern continued their end-of-first-half dominance with a 5-0 run to start the second half, contributing to a larger 20-4 run by the Wildcats. A short-lived Indiana comeback five minutes into the second half was quickly quieted by back to back threes from Falzon and Law. The Wildcats extended their lead to 13 on a 12-2 run highlighted by six more Falzon points (including an improbable shooter’s roll). After the quiet 1-of-8 start from beyond the arc, NU made 9 of its next 11 threes in a stretch spanning the end of the first and early second half. Six of those, of course, belonged to Falzon. A 13-1 Indiana run cut the Northwestern lead to three late in the game, yet the Wildcats refused to give up, scoring six straight to keep pace. After Falzon’s one-man run, the Wildcats were able to branch out on offense, distributing the ball more evenly later in the game as more space became available and Indiana locked in on Falzon on the perimeter. The NU defense was strong all night, largely avoiding foul trouble and holding Indiana to 4-of-21 from beyond the arc and 38.3% from the field all night. Northwestern’s next game is at the Kohl Center against Wisconsin on Saturday.