BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Cody Zeller scored 23 points and Verdell Jones had all six of his over the final 4:03 to lead No. 18 Indiana past Northwestern 71-66 on Wednesday night.
The victory gave coach Tom Crean his first 20-win season in Bloomington, and the Hoosiers (20-6, 8-6 Big Ten) are 15-1 at home.
As usual, John Shurna led the Wildcats (15-10, 5-8) with 29 points, while Drew Crawford had 18.
But the game between the league's two best 3-point shooting teams turned into a grinder.
It was 63-63 with 4:29 to go when Jones finally warmed up. He hit a tie-breaking baseline jumper, followed that with a driving layup to give the Hoosiers a 67-63 lead and the Wildcats never got another chance to retake the lead.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WAVE, a Raycom Media Station. 