Andrew Linnehan
Men’s Basketball
Luka Mirkovic and Michael Thompson have been a deadly combo for opponents all season long. Stanford took the brunt of the attack on Saturday as the 'Cats moved to 9-1, its best start in 79 years.
Aristotle once said, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no is no education at all.” The Northwestern men’s basketball team, playing with a harmonious blend of both mind and heart defeated its academically elite counterparts 70-62 in Evanston on Saturday.
Throughout the afternoon, Northwestern played defense with its feet and Stanford played with its hands, resulting in continuous foul trouble for the Cardinal all game long. Just seven minutes into the second half, NU was already in the bonus (Stanford had committed seven fouls), but Stanford played as if it had a plethora of fouls to give, constantly hacking Northwestern ball-handlers and sending them to the charity stripe. At day’s end, NU beat Stanford 22-6 on the free throw line, a clear difference in the ballgame.
John Shurna had a team-high 22 points and 8 rebounds for the ‘Cats, who improved to 9-1 for the first time since the 1993-94 season and matched its best start in 79 years. An always fiery Luka Mirkovic started at center for NU and led the ‘Cats with five assists.
Northwestern never trailed in the second half, but Stanford cut its deficit to one at 60-59 with 1:52 left to play, but Michael Thompson buried a clutch 3-pointer with 1:23 left to put the ‘Cats up 4. And unlike a notorious characteristic of NU teams in recent history, the Wildcats made six straight free throws down the stretch to expunge any lingering hope of a Cardinal comeback.
Stanford, who came into the contest ranked 17th in the nation in fewest turnovers per game, committed 18 turnovers and 28 fouls. At one point in the second half, four of Stanford’s five starters were on the bench with 4 fouls.
The Wildcats have now beaten a team in the Big East (Notre Dame), the ACC (NC State), and the Pac-10 (Stanford).
Northwestern returns to action Tuesday, as the ‘Cats host Central Connecticut State in Evanston.
