Purdue looked to be in firm control of the game, leading by as much as ten in the second half, before Northwestern stormed back to tack the lead with a 14-0 run from the 11:07 to the 3:10 minute mark of the second half. Highlights of that run included a 3-pointer by senior Sterling Williams as well as a nice assist from freshman Kyle Rowley that led to a Jeff Ryan layup. By the time Purdue finally scored again on a lay up by E’Twaun Moore with 3:10 to go, the ‘Cats led 56-52.

Purdue cut the NU lead back down to two with thirty seconds left but the ‘Cats quickly responded when on the ensuing inbound pass Coble found freshman Luka Mirkovic open down the court. Mirkovic made the easy basket to put NU back up by four. On Purdue’s next possession, sophomore Robert Hummel was fouled but he missed a chance to get his team back in the game by missing the front end of a one and one. The Boilermakers had to foul Kevin Coble to prolong the game and after Coble made both free throws, effectively guaranteeing a victory, the Wildcats could celebrate their third win in a row.

The win avenges an earlier loss to Purdue. In the first match in Evanston between the two teams, it was Northwestern who relinquished a big lead in the second half. The NU victory also breaks a streak of seven straight home victories for the Boilermakers and drops their record to 22-8 overall and 11-6 in conference play.

Purdue’s high scorers were Keaton Grant and Moore, who each had 14 points.

The ‘Cats big comeback bolsters their claim to an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. If Northwestern can defeat Ohio State Sunday night and then win one to two games in the Big Ten Tournament, the NCAA selection committee will have to give the Wildcats serious consideration as NU can point to impressive victories over Florida State, Michigan State, Minnesota and now Purdue as evidence that they deserve to play on CBS come mid-March.

Moore, who cried during an emotional pre-game ceremony honoring him and fellow seniors Marlon Day, Patrick Houlihan, and Sterling Williams, finished the game with 11 points. He had been just 1-10 shooting behind the arc before he made the three pointer with 1:02 left to play.

Despite the heroics provided by Moore, the ‘Cats player of the game had to be junior Kevin Coble. Coble just missed registering a double-double, collecting nine rebounds to go with 16 points. Coble, who even had three blocks, made a jump shot that ultimately put Northwestern up for good with 4:20 to play. Junior Michael Thompson also contributed significantly with four assists and 14 points. Thompson made three straight three pointers in the second half that helped NU seize back control of the game just when it appeared the momentum was swinging to the Hawkeyes.

However, it was the ‘Cats defense which truly enabled them to avenge their February 7 loss at Iowa. During the last 4:32 of the game Iowa scored just two points and those came on a largely uncontested layup where the ‘Cats where primarily concerned with not fouling and stopping the clock. NU also kept Iowa guard Jake Kelly, the game’s high scorer with 23 points, from getting off a single shot during the last four minutes of the game.

Iowa, who has not won a Big Ten road game this year, falls to 14-15 overall and 4-12 in conference play. The ‘Cats are now 16-11 overall and 7-9 in the Big Ten. The victory all but ensures that Northwestern will receive a bid to at least the NIT. The ‘Cats could still make the NCAA Tournament if they win their remaining games against road opponents Purdue and Ohio State and then win two to three games in the Big Ten Tournament. If NU does fall short of the NCAA Tournament, it is possible that Moore and the other seniors could play another game at Welsh-Ryan because NIT games are played at teams’ home sites for the first few rounds of the tournament.

In contrast, Minnesota was hot all night offensively, shooting over 50 percent from the field and making seven three pointers. Junior Lawrence Westbrook, a cousin of Philadelphia Eagles star Brian Westbrook, led the Gophers with 17 points.

The ‘Cats, who have suffered from a recent bout of illness, lacked energy from the start of play. Unfortunately, they were matched up against a spirited Minnesota squad playing for its NCAA Tournament life. The Gophers out-hustled Northwestern to every ball, out rebounding the Wildcats 36-18. Whether because he was dismayed at the lack of effort or because he realized that the game was out of reach and thus not worth the risk of injury, Northwestern coach Bill Carmody benched many of his regulars for a majority of the second half. Coble and Moore played less than 25 minutes each.

Northwestern, now 14-11 overall and 5-9 in Big Ten play, travels to Indiana to face the Hoosiers on Wednesday night. The Gophers, 20-7 and 8-7 in the conference, will next play Thursday night at Illinois.

Correction 10:04: The article originally stated that Northwestern lost 72-54, not 72-45.

Freshman John Shurna hit a game-winning 3-pointer from the corner with 3.3 seconds left as the ‘Cats overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat Ohio State 72-69. Junior Kevin Coble led the ‘Cats with 26 points while senior Craig Moore rebounded from a couple of poor recent showings with a 23-point night.

The ‘Cats played a lackluster first half but a 3-point-play from freshman Wildcat Kyle Rowley kick-started a 21-9 run in the second half’s first 10 minutes.

Northwestern led 69-64 heading into the final minute, but a 3-pointer from Ohio State’s William Buford and a layup from Jon Diebler — the Buckeyes leading scorer with 28 points — tied the game at 69. With late collapses in the previous two games against Illinois and Michigan, the ‘Cats had to be a little worried that their second-half ghosts were about to make another appearance.

But this time Northwestern came through under pressure. Junior Michael Thompson found Shurna in the corner, who calmly swished the 3-pointer to give Northwestern a three point lead. The clock ran out before the Bucks could attempt a last shot to tie the game and the ‘Cats (14-10) could celebrate their fifth conference win.

Ohio State will head back to Columbus knowing that, with their next three games against Illinois, Penn State and Purdue, their NCAA tournament hopes hang in the balance.

The ‘Cats will try to continue with the role of spoiler when they take on the Minnesota Gophers on Sunday night in Minneapolis. At 7-6 in Big Ten play, the Gophers are currently on the bubble and need to defeat Northwestern if they hope to avoid the NIT come March.

The Wolverines were led by sophomore Manny Harris, whose heroics gave Michigan the edge in a back-and-forth game. Harris scored 26 points, 8 of which came in the overtime period. Early in the second half, Harris went on 9-0 run by himself in a less than two-minute stretch. The Detroit native’s run turned a 29-25 Northwestern lead into a 34-29 lead for the maize and blue.

The ‘Cats top scorer was Coble, who finished with 23 points. Freshman John Shurna also had a big game with 17 points and 8 rebounds. However, the extra offense Shurna produced could not offset the offense lost by senior Craig Moore. Moore had his lowest point total of the season with just six points. It was the second straight poor offensive showing for Moore, who scored only eight points in Thursday’s loss against Illinois. Prior to Sunday, the senior was averaging 15 points per game.

The student section also made a poor showing, perhaps suffering from a hangover after the heartbreaking loss against the Illini. The section only filled up half way and was frequently out cheered by a contingent of about 50 Michigan students that made the trip from Ann Arbor.

Michigan improves to 16-10, 6-7 in the Big Ten. With wins over UCLA and Duke and a close lose at UConn, they are a bubble team and with a good close to the season could find themselves in the NCAA Tournament.

The loss puts Northwestern at 13-10 overall and 4-8 in conference play. To have a realistic shot at an at-large NCAA Tournament invite the team will likely have to win all six of its remaining games. The ‘Cats will get their next shot at a victory Wednesday night, when they play host to Ohio State. The Buckeyes, who are coming off a loss Saturday night in Wisconsin, are 7-5 in the Big Ten.

With just over six minutes to play it appeared the game was going to be a special one for the Wildcats. They led 55-41 and had dominated Illinois from the opening tip off. The student section filled up a good half hour before game time and was the loudest its been in at least the last five years. Northwestern seemed destined to secure a win over its in-state rival that would propel the team back into contention for a birth in the NCAA tournament.

But then Northwestern just ran out of gas. The visibly tired ‘Cats had trouble in-bounding the ball and scored just two points in the final five minutes of play. A three-pointer by Trent Meacham cut Northwestern’s lead to three with just over a minute to play and then Meacham added a layup to make the score 59-58 Northwestern with 45 seconds left. On the ensuing possession ‘Cats sophomore Michael Thompson attempted a difficult lay up but had the ball stripped away by Meacham. McCamey then nailed a jumper to give the Illini the lead. Senior Craig Moore heaved a desperation shot as the buzzer sounded but the ball fell well short of the basket. The orange-clad Illinois cheering section exploded in celebration while Northwestern fans exited in complete disbelief, tournament dreams crushed.

Freshman Luka Mirkovic and junior Kevin Coble were the ‘Cats leading scorers with fourteen points apiece. Northwestern fell to 4-7 in the Big Ten and 13-9 overall

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody will have to answer questions about how he used the team’s bench. Moore, Coble, Mirkovic and Thompson all played at least 35 minutes and spent much of the closing minutes of the game with their hands on their knees. At the end of the game, the ‘Cats wilted under the Illini pressure defense and lost all of the aggressiveness that had made them so successful earlier in the game. The Illini, in contrast, strengthened as the game wore long and seemed confidant that they were going to win.

The collapse Thursday night is the latest among a number of poor late second half showings by NU. In an earlier game in Evanston against Purdue, NU also blew a second half 14-point lead en route to a 63-61 loss.

The Illini victory was their tenth straight against the Wildcats. Illinois is now 20-5 overall, 8-4 in conference play, and should be in good position to secure a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Northwestern will have a few days to recoup before playing Sunday against the Michigan Wolverines at Welsh-Ryan. In an earlier game in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines defeated the Wildcats 68-59.

At first, it appeared that Northwestern might be able to survive Iowa’s hot three-point shooting as well as several long stretches, including a three minute period during the second half, where the ‘Cats did not score. An old-fashioned three-point play on a field goal by freshman Luka Mirkovic gave NU a one point lead with 1:29 to play. However, Bawinkel answered on Iowa’s next possession with a three-pointer from the corner and the Hawkeyes led 48-46. NU missed a chance to tie when junior Kevin Coble missed an off-balanced (perhaps ill-advised) shot. Mirkovic grabbed the offensive rebound to give NU another opportunity but the ball was stripped away from sophomore Michael Thompson. After that, Iowa made its free throws to kill any hopes of a late Wildcats’ comeback.

Senior Craig Moore was Northwestern’s leading scorer with 20 points. No other ‘Cat reached double digits, and throughout the game, Moore was visibly angry with the team’s effort.

The ‘Cats are now 4-6 in conference play, 13-8 overall. They have a lot of work to do if they hope to reach the NCAA tournament.

The ‘Cats, now 13-7 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten, often had trouble matching up against the athletic Cougars. Chicago State wowed the crowd with several dunks and blocks and managed to head into the locker room down by just six.

But Northwestern’s defense always kept the Cougars from getting too close and that, along with the ‘Cats advantage in the 3-point battle, provided the margin of victory. SESP junior Jeremy Nash in particular was a huge pest for the Cougars, stealing the ball a season high seven times. The Wildcats held the Cougars to just 13 percent shooting at 3-point range.

In contrast, Northwestern shot 44 percent from behind the arc, making 12 3-pointers to Chicago State’s two. Early in the second half Shurna made four straight 3-pointers to push the Wildcats’ lead to double digits. But Shurna was hardly the only ‘Cat hot from 3-point land. SESP senior Craig Moore added five 3-pointers and Weinberg sophomore Michael Thompson, Weinberg junior Kevin Coble and Nash also connected from long distances. Nash attempted three total 3-pointers, as he continues to get more and more confidant shooting the ball with each game.

Senior John Cantrell was Chicago State’s leading scorer with 29 points.

The ‘Cats will attempt to reach the .500 mark in conference play when they battle Iowa on the road Saturday evening.

After a back and forth game, Northwestern took a 56-55 lead with 2:26 to go on a Kevin Coble lay up. Coble then stole the ball and the ‘Cats scored again, this time on a layup by Luka Mirkovic, to push the lead to three. The two teams then traded baskets, leaving Northwestern’s lead at three points with 13 seconds to go. The Badgers had to foul the ‘Cats and hope that they missed at least one free throw to give Wisconsin a chance to tie the game without making a three pointer. Moore ensured the Badgers never got such a chance. In the last 11 seconds of play Moore went six for six from the charity stripe to keep the ‘Cats up by at least three. Then, after coming through at the line, Moore stole the ball on the Badgers last possession to seal the ‘Cats victory.

The purple and white had to be pleased with the impressive student turnout at Saturday’s game. Both sides of the student section were completely full and for once Welsh-Ryan seemed more like Cameroon Indoor Stadium than a middle school gym. Chants of “Let’s go ‘Cats,” echoed loudly off the walls and in the fourth quarter students at the student section near the Northwestern bench started batting around a blow up doll wearing a purple t-shirt. Though NU coach Bill Carmody probably doesn’t have a blow up doll in mind when he talks about creating a home advantage, he was probably still pleased with the energy the students showed.

Northwestern’s victory avenged a 29-point loss at Wisconsin earlier this year. Since the beat down in Madison, the two teams have gone in opposite directions. NU is 4-2 since the earlier game while the Badgers have lost all six games since.

Trevon Hughes was the Badgers leading scorer with fifteen points.

The Wildcats, now in seventh place in the conference, return to action on Wednesday against inter-city rival Chicago State. Their next Big Ten game will be next Saturday, February 7th, at Iowa. The Hawkeyes are just 2-6 in the Big Te

Despite missing the last four games of the regular season with a wrist injury, the senior from Akron, Ohio still rushed for 890 yards and six touchdowns in the 2008 season. He returned for the 2009 Alamo Bowl, where he turned in a truly heroic performance. Few expected Sutton to be a factor but instead he gained 114 yards in the game, which NU lost to Missouri 30-23.

Sutton followed up his star performance in the Alamo Bowl with another strong showing in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 17. In the East’s 24-19 victory, Sutton rushed for 37 yards with a touchdown and even returned three kickoffs.

Sutton, the 2005 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, is Northwestern’s all-time leader in receiving yards by a running back. He gained at least 1000 yards rushing in each of his first two seasons with the Wildcats.