No. 20 Northwestern meets Texas Tech in final (Nov 19, 2017)
UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- After a disappointing home loss to Creighton on Wednesday night, No. 20 Northwestern bounced back Saturday for an 82-74 win over LaSalle, advancing to Sunday's Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off championship.
The Wildcats (3-1) will square off against Texas Tech (3-1) seeking their first in-season championship since 2013, when they won the South Padre Island Invitational.
After Northwestern struggled to defend in its first three games, senior guard Bryant McIntosh challenged the Wildcats to turn up their defensive intensity heading into Saturday's semifinal against LaSalle.
While the Explorers managed to shoot 48.3 percent from the field, Northwestern's defense looked cleaner, particularly on the perimeter and in transition. LaSalle shot just 23.8 percent from 3-point range after Northwestern had allowed its previous three opponents to shoot an average of 44.1 percent from behind the arc.
"We have to do a better job defensively in the second half, but overall I thought our offense kind of put them away late," said McIntosh, who led Northwestern with 21 points and seven assists against LaSalle. "We hit a lot of big shots. It was nice to have Aaron (Falzon) come off the bench and knock a couple big ones in for us."
Falzon, a sophomore forward who missed the majority of last season with a lingering knee injury, made his season debut against LaSalle, scoring 11 points in 18 minutes while shooting 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Scottie Lindsey added 20 points and six rebounds and echoed McIntosh's sentiments heading into Sunday's championship.
"Defense is definitely something that's going to help us win this next game," Lindsey said. "We have to watch a lot of film, watch Texas Tech's personnel, and make sure we defend well tomorrow."
Texas Tech defeated Boston College 75-64 to advance to Sunday's championship. Keenan Evans led all scorers with 29 points, shooting 9 of 15 from the field, and was one of three Red Raiders to reach double-digit scoring.
Evans averaged 15.2 points per game during the 2016-17 season, shooting an impressive 43.2 percent from 3-point range.
"Keenan's our guy," Texas Tech coach Chris Beard said. "I've never been more excited to coach a guy his senior year than I have Keenan. The thing that I've seen from him the last few of months is a different level of maturity and discipline. ... I think Keenan's got a chance to be one of the better guards in all of college basketball this season."
Texas Tech entered Saturday's matchup with Boston College holding its opponents to 27.2 percent shooting, which ranked fourth in the country. The Red Raiders have five seniors on their roster and have had at least three players in double figures in each of their first three games.
"What I believe in, and what we believe in, is balance," Beard said. "Having four or five guys in double figures. I think this year's team has the ability to do that with the talent we have."
Sunday's championship will be the first-ever meeting between Northwestern and Texas Tech.
