Northwestern hanging in there
Believe it or not, the following fact and the following quote don't necessarily contradict each other.
For the 12th time in 12 Big Ten games, Northwestern lost by double digits as No. 19 Purdue maintained its 1-game conference lead with a 71-56 win Saturday afternoon in Evanston.
Yet here was Wildcats coach Bill Carmody's summation of his team's recent run:
"I'm not displeased with the way they're playing, to be truthful," Carmody said.
How can that fact and that quote co-exist? Because for the fifth time in a row against a ranked Big Ten foe, Northwestern was right there with 10 minutes to go.
When sophomore forward Kevin Coble swished a 3-pointer with 9:49 left, he capped a 12-0 run that gave the Wildcats a 50-48 lead.
Junior guard Craig Moore, who gave Coble the assist, leaped into the air. Several Wildcats jumped off the bench in celebration, too.
And the 3,000 Northwestern fans that had been drowned out all game by the 3,000 Purdue fans finally started dominating Welsh-Ryan Arena's decibels meter.
But just 2:14 after Coble's 3-pointer, Northwestern found itself down 60-50 as Purdue went wild and the hosts again went flat.
Boilers sophomore guard Keaton Grant swished a pair of rainbow 3-pointers -- one from each wing -- to snap a 50-50 tie and spur a 14-0 spree that gave Purdue its 11th consecutive victory.
"It was 50-48," Coble said. "And then all of a sudden they were up 6. And we were like, 'How does that swing happen?' "
Here's how: Purdue (21-5, 12-1) figured out how to stop turning over the ball against Northwestern's 1-3-1 zone trap -- and how to get it into freshman guard E'Twaun Moore's hands.
Two weeks after torching Illinois for a career-high 24 points, Moore poured in 28 points against the Wildcats on 10-of-15 shooting.
Moore started by driving seams and hitting pull-up jumpers. Then he settled in the corners and rained in 3-pointers.
"In a nutshell," said Purdue coach Matt Painter, "E'Twaun Moore was fabulous, Keaton Grant made some key shots, and we had a lot of other people chip in to get this victory."
Meanwhile, Northwestern's offense fell into its typical late-game shell.
Including Coble's 3-pointer that gave NU its lone second-half lead, the Wildcats made 19 of their first 39 shots.
After Coble's 3-pointer, the hosts missed 10 of their last 11 shots. The 3-pointers that went down early started hitting the front rim and falling into the Boilers' hands.
Purdue grabbed 24 of the game's final 33 rebounds to limit NU (7-16, 0-12) to 1 shot per possession.
At game's end, the Purdue fans made themselves at home and started chanting "Beat IU!" while waving "BEAT INDIANA" banners.
The Boilers head to Bloomington on Tuesday for the intrastate rivals' lone meeting this season.
"I hope some of those same fans come down there to support us," Moore said. "(This) kind of felt like a home game."