Indiana Stumbles at Home to Northwestern in Big Ten Opener

Indiana erased a 15-point deficit and even took a lead late in the second half, but staggered down the stretch in a disappointing 74-67 loss to Northwestern.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – In baseball parlance, it was a warning-track fly ball. In football talk, it was a Hail Mary pass that got knocked away harmlessly.

Indiana made a valiant comeback Wednesday night against Northwestern, and even though their rally got the cardboard cutouts inside Assembly Hall on the edges of their seats, it wasn't enough.

Not nearly enough.

Indiana lost 74-67 to Northwestern, losing its Big Ten opener despite being nine-point favorites coming into the game. The Hoosiers erased a 15-point deficit, and actually led for a few minutes in the second half, but staggered down the stretch and couldn't get a deciding look in the final few minutes.

With the loss, its first to the Wildcats in Assembly Hall since 2014, Indiana falls to 5-3 on the season and 0-1 in the Big Ten. Northwestern is now 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the league for the first time since the 2006 season.  

Indiana had 16 turnovers, which just doesn't cut it in conference play. Several of them came down the stretch too, where a few loose possessions cost them a shot at winning.

"The turnovers, it's coming from a lot of different guys,'' Indiana coach Archie Miller said. 'We had a slew of inopportune plays that we're trying to get away from. We have to trust moving the ball and letting good things happen. 

"We're too sloppy right now. We have too many plays that aren't going to work for us. We can't turn the ball over 16 times and win, not in this league.  And we had some really tough turnovers late that really hurt us.''

Indiana's nice second-half comeback was fueled by improved defensive intensity, forcing six turnovers in the first seven minutes to get back in the game. Franklin hit a three-pointer to put Indiana ahead 50-47 and two Race Thompson free throws made it 54-50 Indiana with 8:56 to go.

But then Northwestern went on another run, scoring 12 straight points to get back ahead 62-54. Jackson-Davis made two free throws and had a dunk, and then Franklin hit another three-pointer with 3:34 left to get Indiana back with two at 63-61. Chase Audige hit a tough jumper in the lane for Northwestern and Indiana couldn't get any closer. 

Indiana scored a basket on only one of their final five possessions and the Wildcats put them away.

"Down the stretch we were sloppy and against a good team, you just can't do that,'' said Jackson-Davis, who finished with a team-high 22 points, making 9-of-12 shots from the field and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. Franklin had 16 and Race Thompson had 11, with nine of those points coming in the second half.

The Hoosiers looked lethargic early, and it was showing up in every part of their game. They missed six of their first seven free throws, were just 2-for-9 early from three-point range and committed several silly turnovers.

Even worse, they didn't provide much resistance at times, giving up on a lot of easy baskets on dribble-drives.

"For the first time in eight games, really, our defense let us down,'' Miller said. "Give Northwestern credit. They're a really good team and they're executing at a high level right now. 

"But I'm really disappointed in how we played, because I don't think our team embraces playing that way.'' 

Much like in Saturday's win against Butler, Indiana did pick itself up off the floor early in the second half. They forced turnovers on one end at converted them into points. They were a completely different team coming out of the break, and got ahead quickly

"We were better in the second half, and we made some stops,'' Miller said. "We got on  nice run, and it was good to see. 

"When we got the lead up to four with nine to go, I thought we felt pretty good there. But I think we got fatigued and fatigue definitely played a factor. We're going to have to play more guys.''

Indiana has a quick turnaround, which is how league play will work this year. They'll practice early on Thursday, and bus to Champaign, Ill. on Christmas Day for a Saturday game against the No. 13-ranked Illini.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's game with Northwestern in real time, with news and opinion along the way. CLICK HERE
• HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE: Despite no fans in the stands, the home teams are still dominating play in the Big Ten, just like always. The hosts are 7-1 so far in league games through Tuesday night. CLICK HERE
• QUICK LEARNING CURVE: A tough nonconference schedule has Indiana well prepared for whatever the Big Ten throws at them this season. Tom Brew column. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA SCHEDULE AND MORE: Here is Indiana's complete men's basketball schedule, including links to the game stories and Tom Brew columns from the first seven games of the season. CLICK HERE