Feb. 22--Northwestern players and their intrepid coach Chris Collins are feeling pretty good about themselves lately, and for good reason.
After enduring a demoralizing 10-game losing streak, the Wildcats have bounced back to win three straight in the Big Ten for only the fifth time this century. The latest was Saturday's dominating 60-39 triumph over Penn State at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Freshman forward Vic Law enjoyed a breakout game, scoring a game-high 17 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, Northwestern's recently implemented zone defense helped limit guard D.J. Newbill to three points, far below his conference-leading average of 21.1 points per game.
"I give my guys a lot of credit," Collins said. "I even give myself a lot of credit because after they hit their first four 3s (to start the game), it was testing my patience to stick with the zone. We stayed the course with it and our defense was fantastic."
Penn State (15-13, 3-12 Big Ten) scored its fewest points in a game this season. The Wildcats (13-14, 4-10) allowed their fewest since they beat the Nittany Lions 54-39 on Feb. 19, 2005.
Penn State coach Patrick Chambers said it was difficult for his team to prepare because the Wildcats have so many unpredictable young players.
"You don't know if (freshman) Vic Law is going to show up or if (freshman Scottie) Lindsey is going to show up," Chambers said. "You know what (junior Tre Demps) is going to give you.
"I thought we did a good job on (freshman) Bryant McIntosh (five points), but he still had eight assists, which is pretty impressive for a young kid to understand, 'Hey, they are taking me out, let me make plays for others.' Vic Law was definitely the difference. I mean, 17 points ... and (7-foot center Alex) Olah is hitting jumpers. You never know what you're going to get."
Newbill had his 36-game streak of scoring in double figures snapped. His only basket came on a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 24 seconds left in the game.
"Our guys did a real good job of keeping an awareness of where Newbill was at all times," Collins said. "Forget that he only hit one basket -- we were able to not let him even get looks. And that's the best way.
"What did he take? Six shots? It's hard to get 20, 25 points when you only get six (shots)."
Law hit 7 of 12 shots, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, while playing 31 minutes off the bench.
"Certainly, this was a break-out game for Vic Law," Collins said.
Said Law: "I am starting to get used to college basketball now, so (it's) getting a little easier."
Layups: Northwestern also had three-game conference winning streaks in 2002, 2004, 2009 and 2012. ... Center Alex Olah tied John Shurna's school record of 136 blocked shots in a career after getting two. ... The Wildcats dominated the hustle stats, outscoring Penn State 15-0 on turnovers and 29-10 in bench points.
fmitchell@tribpub.com
Winning picks up spirits of beleaguered Wildcats
