Indiana continued its frustrating pattern of inconsistency on Tuesday night, falling 79-70 at Northwestern for their fifth straight loss to the Wildcats. After building a six-point halftime lead with an 18-2 run to close the first half, IU's defense completely fell apart after intermission as Northwestern scored 54 second-half points on a blistering 62.5% shooting.

While Indiana showed brief signs of life with a 10-0 second-half run to take a 52-49 lead, Northwestern responded with a devastating 21-4 run that effectively ended any hopes of IU's first win in Evanston since 2019. The loss drops Indiana to 14-6 (5-4 B1G).

Key Talking Points:

• Northwestern torched IU's defense for 1.69 points per possession in the second half

• Four Wildcats (Barnheizer, Martinelli, Barry, Leach) combined for 77 of Northwestern's 79 points

• IU's offense remained overly reliant on contested mid-range jumpers while Northwestern generated clean looks

• Malik Reneau showed significant rust in his return, going 0-6 in 11 limited minutes

• Another game defined by IU's inability to sustain positive momentum when taking leads

Plus, as always, the Banner Moment, Meaningful Moments You Might Have Missed, Inside the Numbers, and our Game Balls, Hustle Award, and Lingering Questions. That's all in this edition of The Assembly Call.

On the mics: Andy Bottoms, Coach Brian Tonsoni, and Josh Pos

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