If Northwestern coach Chris Collins was instructing his players to not foul in the final 10 seconds, his players weren’t listening.
The Wildcats seemed to serve Indiana two opportunities to tie the game at the free throw line, but neither trip to the stripe was rewarded.
With Northwestern up 69-66 with 14 seconds remaining Tuesday evening at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Indiana guard Tayton Conerway drove the length of the floor for a dunk.
Inexplicably, Northwestern guard Jake West tried to block the shot and instead swiped the head of Conerway, knocking him to the floor. A foul call would have given Conerway a chance to tie the game at the free throw line.
And equally difficult to explain, no foul was called, much to the dismay of the IU bench.
69-68 Northwestern, 8 seconds remaining.
Indiana fouled immediately and West made two free throws to make it 71-68, Wildcats. There were still 8 seconds left on the clock.
I enjoy watching Indiana & DeVries lose, but how the hell is that not a foul!? pic.twitter.com/q6nybQPjT0
— Ryan McIntyre (@Moneyline_Mac) February 25, 2026
Indiana inbounded to Lamar Wilkerson who dribbled to the right wing and handed the ball off to Tucker DeVries, who immediately elevated for a 3-pointer with 5 seconds showing on the clock.
As DeVries attempted to release the shot, his left arm was grabbed by Northwestern’s Angelo Ciaravino.
It was an obvious missed call. As clear as they come. And a call in that moment would have given DeVries a chance to tie the game at the line.
But once again, no call was made, and Assembly Hall erupted in boos.
Tucker DeVries raised his hands in disbelief, and then showed the official, Kelly Pfeifer, his left arm.
“He said he couldn’t see it. I mean, that’s his explanation,” Tucker said. “That’s all I can give you. I thought it was a foul. It’s part of the game. That’s all I’m going to give.”
Pfeifer was positioned behind DeVries, so it is entirely possible he didn’t have the angle to see Ciaravino’s hand on DeVries’ arm. From just about any other angle there was no doubt. But no other official stepped in.
Darian DeVries stormed up the sideline first screaming at Pfeifer and then another official, pleading for a call that was clearly not coming. The Hoosiers lost, 72-68.
“Yeah, it’s a tough play. It happens fast. You know, that’s just what it is,” Darian DeVries said.
All of this came about because Indiana gave away a double-digit lead and had to scramble late.
Wilkerson, who scored 14 points in the first eight minutes of the game, didn’t make a shot from the field over the last 32 minutes.
“Ultimately, man, it shouldn’t have came down to the ref,” Wilkerson said. “We shouldn’t have put the ref in the position to make that call. When we was up we shouldn’t have got comfortable. We just got to do better, man. We just got to do better.”
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
