Solid rally, but NU comes away with loss
MADISON, Wis. - Ordinarily when Northwestern plays at Kohl Center, the Wildcats want to burn the game tape as soon as possible.
Not after Sunday's 70-63 Big Ten loss to the 14th-ranked Badgers.
After receiving the short end of critical calls that short-circuited a remarkable comeback, Northwestern's coaches reviewed parts of the tape in their locker room before hopping on the bus for an unhappy ride home.
No. 1 on the Most-Rewound List? John Shurna's loose-ball foul with 30 seconds to go and the Wildcats trailing 65-63.
Wisconsin's Trevon Hughes missed a 3-pointer that Shurna rebounded, but official John Higgins ruled that Shurna fouled Tim Jarmusz after they locked arms to prepare for the board.
The call so incensed NU's coaches, the assistants uncharacteristically took several steps on the court after the final buzzer in order to scream at Higgins as he left the floor.
"(Shurna) had two hands on the ball," NU coach Bill Carmody said before reviewing the tape. "I have no idea what happened at the end there, but it was a big call, though."
Shurna, who led everyone with 26 points, couldn't put his usual positive spin on the play.
"I'll look at (the replay) eventually," Shurna said 20 minutes after the game. "I'm still kind of upset at the moment."
Northwestern could have departed Kohl Center disappointed instead of angry, but the Wildcats decided to dig in during the game's final 10 minutes.
Wisconsin (20-7, 10-5) shot 75 percent in the first half to take a 43-29 lead and still owned a 57-44 working margin with 11 minutes to go.
At that point, NU's 1-3-1 zone trap began taking its toll as the Badgers went scoreless for nearly five minutes.
"They do a good job of making you play indecisive," said Wisconsin senior guard Jason Bohannon, who produced a team-high 17 points. "They make you second-guess your choices that you normally would make instantly."
"That was the best I've seen Northwestern play their half-court defense," said Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan. "They were reading well, they were flying, they were very attentive to detail."
Meanwhile, the Wildcats reeled off 10 points in a row as Shurna kept driving to the hoop while mixing in pick-and-rolls with center Luka Mirkovic.
Northwestern pulled within 1 point on two occasions and had a great chance to tie with a minute to go.
Shurna drove on 6-foot guard Trevon Hughes, who fell down while trying to take a charge. The Glenbard West product had an unguarded 8-footer, but he missed his bank shot from a severe angle.
"The one John skimmed off the backboard, it was probably a charge and they didn't call it," Carmody said.
"I should've kept my dribble in that situation," Shurna said. "That was my fault."
Once the Wildcats (17-10, 6-9) get past the outwardly directed anger and the inwardly directed blame, they'll likely opt to be content with their best showing at Kohl Center in 11 visits since the joint opened in 1998.
"We had not been playing well the last three games," Carmody said. "I liked the way we played offensively most of the night - and defensively in the second half."