Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, March 12, 2015

CHICAGO — No. 7-seed Indiana took down No. 10-seed Northwestern, 71-56, Thursday night at the United Center.

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The Hoosiers, who lost to Northwestern in the season's only meeting, dominated this one from start to finish en route to advancing to play No. 2-seed Maryland on Friday.

Get BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart's rapid reaction to Indiana's win.

Star player: James Blackmon Jr. looked like a freshman All-American, tallying 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting (5-of-10 from 3-point range). He also had six rebounds and seven assists.

Top stat: 56, points allowed by Indiana. The Hoosiers came into the game last in the Big Ten in points allowed (71.8 ppg). NU stars Tre Demps (2-5 shooting) and Alex Olah (3-of-10) never got on track. A team with a reputation for playing soft defense needed an effort like this. It should serve IU well in its next matchup vs. No. 2 Maryland.

Top stat line: James Blackmon Jr. flirted with a triple-double, going for a game-high 25 points, six rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

Top dunk: At about the 15-minute mark of the second half, James Blackmon Jr. lofted a pass to Troy Williams following an offensive rebound. Williams promptly deposited the ball in the hoop on a thunderous slam.

It was over when: Pretty much when the ball went into the air. Aside from trailing 5-3 in the very early moments, Indiana led the entire game, and by double digits from the 12:39 mark in the first half to the final buzzer. This one was never really in doubt.

Notable: Indiana had lost eight of its last 12 vs. Northwestern entering Thursday night. Hanner Mosquera-Perea reaggravated his right knee in a scary collision with Alex Olah, and the Hoosiers will reevaluate the knee Friday. … Indiana and Maryland split two meetings this season, with each winning on their home court. The Hoosiers won, 89-70; the Terrapins won, 68-66. This will mark the programs' first postseason meeting since Maryland beat Indiana in the 2002 national championship game. … Yogi Ferrell hit three 3-pointers to extend his school-record streak with at least one to 63 games.

About Tom Dienhart BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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