For 39 minutes Wednesday night, Northwestern’s game plan was working to near perfection, much to the delight of college basketball fans in Champaign, Iowa City and Madison.
The Wildcats were on the verge of upsetting ninth-ranked Ohio State and creating a last-minute scramble for the Big Ten regular-season title.
But it wasn’t to be. The Wildcats made a series of late mistakes, the most egregious being allowing Ron Lewis to break free for a layup with 10 seconds to play, that helped the Buckeyes to a 56-53 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
“Our defense just let him go,” Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said.
And so the Buckeyes (22-4, 11-4) enjoy a one-game lead over Illinois and Iowa with one to go. If they haven’t backed into the outright title and No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament that goes with it by Sunday, they can take care of their own business at home against last-place Purdue.
Because of tiebreakers, Illinois cannot be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
“Our guys know there’s another game to play, but we’re elated to be [at least] co-champions of the best conference in the country,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said.
Northwestern (13-14, 5-10) fell below .500 for the first time this season and saw its hopes for an NIT bid dim. They finish the regular season at home Saturday night against Minnesota.
The Buckeyes found they had to work for their share of the title.
“It was one of the toughest games I’ve ever been involved in,” Matta said, referring to all the substitutions and decisions that come in a game that includes 14 lead changes. “It was a game of crazy plays.”
In the end, it came down to the plays Northwestern couldn’t make and a decision Carmody would like to have back.
After Lewis’s basket gave the Buckeyes a 54-53 lead, Northwestern freshman guard Sterling Williams raced down the court, pulled up and tried to pass to center Vince Scott, but the ball never got there.
Carmody said he should have called a timeout to set up a play.
“Seven out of 10 times in that situation I call a timeout,” Carmody said. “I take the responsibility for that. I saw transition and that is [Williams’] strength.”
Northwestern fouled Lewis and he missed the free throw to give Northwestern one last chance with 1.3 seconds left. This time, Carmody used three timeouts to set up a three-quarters court pass from Tim Doyle to Vedran Vukusic. But it sailed into the Northwestern bench as Vukusic lunged for it.
Je’Kel Foster’s two free throws with a second left ended the scoring.
Northwestern lost the game before that. With 2:04 to play and trying to build on a 53-52 lead, Foster poked Northwestern’s Craig Moore in the eye.
“The official said he poked him in the eye, but it wasn’t a foul,” Carmody said.
Then with 54.8 seconds left and NU still leading by a point, guard Evan Seacat stepped on the line in front of the bench, turning the ball over.
Lewis missed a shot, but center Terence Dials (18 points, seven rebounds) grabbed the offensive rebound. What ensued was a wild possession that included eight passes and two near-turnovers before Lewis laid in the game-winner.
Northwestern lost because it turned the ball over 15 times (“Stupid turnovers,” Vukusic said), and made only 2 of 6 free throws, offsetting NU’s surprising 33-26 rebounding advantage.
Vukusic led Northwestern with 13 points but shot only 5 of 14. Mohamed Hachad had 11 points and 10 rebounds but five turnovers as well.
“They made the plays they had to make, and that’s why they’re at the top of the league,” Carmody said.
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tabannon@tribune.com
