BLOOMINGTON — Indiana basketball's late rally fell short on Sunday afternoon in a 76-72 loss to Northwestern at Assembly Hall.

The Hoosiers (14-11; 6-8 Big Ten) went on a 11-0 run with less than five minutes to go, but the comeback stalled even though Northwestern (17-8; 8-6) closed out the game by going 1 of 11 from the field.

Indiana didn't have leading-scorer Malik Reneau on the court during the rally. Reneau fouled out for the second straight game after picking up two fouls in just nine seconds with 6:23 to go . It was also the second straight game Reneau was held under 10 points — he had nine points on 4 of 9 shooting with four turnovers.

The loss dropped Indiana coach Mike Woodson to 0-4 (0-2 at Assembly Hall) against the Widlcats since taking over the program in 2021-22.

More: Look: Indiana basketball debuts new all black Fear of God Athletics uniforms from Adidas

Northwestern outhustles Indiana basketball

The lasting images from Sunday afternoon came with Indiana players just standing around while Northwestern players gave all out effort to get the ball.

Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli had four IU players surrounding him, but still came up with an offensive rebound off a missed free throw with 10:06 to go. The possession ended with Matthew Nicholson throwing down a forceful dunk.

The same thing happened when a loose ball hit the floor earlier in the half and Northwestern guard Ryan Langborg immediately dove for it while IU players just stood around.

Northwestern’s effort was visible on the glass as well. Matthew Nicholson had more offensive rebounds (seven) than IU had as a team (five). The Wildcats finished the game with 14 total offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points.

Those plays made a difference in what ended up being a one-possession game with 7.9 seconds to go and Northwestern's leading scorer Boo Buie didn’t have a made field goal until there was 8:27 left in the game.

There were exceptions with Gabe Cupps's defense being a big reason for Buie's struggles and Mackenzie Mgbako was locked in to help the Hoosiers make a 7-0 run coming out of halftime. Mgbako hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to make it a one-possession game, but it wasn't enough.

Mgabko had 20 points with 19 of those coming in the second half.

More: Indiana basketball: What to know about new Fear of God alternate uniforms

Indiana basketball fans didn’t have much to cheer about in first half

Buie (19.2 points per game) and Brooks Barnhizer (14.3 points) played a combined 18 minutes in the first half, but Indiana couldn’t take advantage of having them off the floor. Buie went to the bench after picking up his second foul with 11:37 to go in the first half and he went into halftime with just four points (0 for 4) while Barnhizer picked up his second foul with 7:52 to go.

Northwestern overcame the foul trouble and some poor shooting (37%) with a strong defensive effort. The Wildcats held IU to .813 points per possession and forced eight turnovers. They led by as many as 11 points in the half.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana men's basketball rally comes up short in loss to Northwestern