At the Buzzer: Northwestern 74, Indiana 61 – Inside the Hall

Quick thoughts on a 74-61 loss to Northwestern:

How it happened

It was an up-and-down first half for Indiana. The Hoosiers started out hot offensively, thanks to solid passing and 3-point shooting. By the 9:24 mark, Indiana led 25-15 on a Nick Dorn 3-pointer. But the final six minutes of the half belonged to Northwestern. After a Lamar Wilkerson tip-in made it 30-21 with 6:14 left in the half, the Wildcats closed the opening 20 minutes on a 15-7 run to make it a one-point game at the break. Jake West was pivotal in Northwestern’s first-half success. The heady freshman point guard led all scorers with 14 points at halftime. For Indiana, Wilkerson had 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting in 17 minutes. Indiana shot 60 percent from the field in the first half but turned the ball over seven times. Northwestern only turned it over twice – both times in the early part of the first half – and shot 55.2 percent from the field before halftime.

Northwestern took control with an 8-0 run in the second half to make it 53-44 at the 12:06 mark. At that point, the Hoosiers had missed seven of their last eight shots and had gone scoreless for more than three minutes. By the 9:33 mark, Northwestern led 60-47 on a Jayden Reid 3-pointer, forcing Indiana to use a timeout. The lead ballooned to 67-49 on a Jordan Clayton 3-pointer with 6:59 remaining, putting the game out of reach. The Hoosiers never got closer than 12 the rest of the way in suffering a loss they could not afford and one that will likely end their season.

Standout performers

Wilkerson led Indiana with 17 points in 34 minutes, and Tayton Conerway added 14 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.

Statistics that stand out

Indiana scored just 24 points in the second half and shot 5-for-20 from the field. The Hoosiers allowed 1.22 points per possession and were outscored 34-24 in the paint. This was Indiana’s seventh straight loss to Northwestern.

Up next for IU

The 2025-26 season for IU is likely over as the Hoosiers are unlikely to make the NCAA tournament and have no plans to play in a secondary postseason tournament.

Final IU individual statistics

Final tempo-free statistics

Assembly Call postgame show

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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