College basketball: Cody Zeller leads Indiana over Northwestern

Evanston, Ill. • Cody Zeller could sense panic setting in. Then, just in time, Indiana regained its composure.

Zeller scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and the No. 2 Hoosiers beat Northwestern 67-59 on Sunday.

Jordan Hulls added 15 points, Christian Watford scored 14 and the Hoosiers (16-2, 4-1 Big Ten) hung on after things got tense down the stretch.

They led by as many as 17 in the first half and were up 31-17 at the break. But Northwestern (11-8, 2-4) responded with a 1-3-1 trap in the second half, leading to rushed shots by Indiana. The Wildcats pulled within five three times, but the Hoosiers hit seven of eight free throws in the final 57 seconds to prevail after seeing a six-game win streak end with a loss to Wisconsin last week.

"They just kind of sped us up for a while," Zeller said. "We were kind of panicked for a while. That's what their defense kind of forces you to do. Once we started getting into the middle, getting to the baseline, then we started getting open shots."

Zeller, the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, hit nine of 10 free throws and dominated inside as Indiana pounded the Wildcats 36-24 on the glass.

No. 14 N.C. State 66, Clemson 62 • In Raleigh, N.C., freshman T.J. Warren scored 21 points while Richard Howell scored the go-ahead basket with 1:56 left to lead North Carolina State. Howell finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolfpack (15-3, 4-1 ACC).