The Northwestern team experienced more than one loss when Ohio State overpowered them by winning 76-60. They suffered an additional loss when the officials tossed Nikola Cerina, the backup center, out of the game and suspended him for a wild punch.
Usually, it is Alex Olah who receives the spotlight. Nikola Cerina, who occasionally backs him up, only plays on an as-needed basis.
On this night however, Cerina finally received the attention that his teammate receives regularly. With six minutes left in the game, he gets into a shoving match with Amir Williams. When the official blows the whistle, Cerina swings and nearly hits Williams with a wild punch.
Ray Perone, the head official, decided to suspend Cerina for Saturday's game against Indiana. He told reporters that Cerina's "closed handed swing" caused the suspension.
The elusive player claims to have little memory of the incident. He told reporters that he only remembers getting tangled up with Williams.
A few players from Ohio State basketball team decided to assist their scuffling teammate. LaQuinton Ross pushed Cerina from behind. Ross decided to shove Drew Crawford, but Crawford refused to retaliate because he already had four fouls.
After reviewing the replays, officials decided to remove Cerina and Ross from the game. Ross will be playing in the game Saturday because the officials decided not to suspend him.
Ohio State fans taunted Cerina as he made his way to the locker room.
This fight did not affect Ohio State's performance, as they went on to win the game by 16 points.
Another incident occurred when JerShon Cobb pushed Aaron Craft during a fast break. He received a foul call for his actions. Cobb had a bad night, missing all his 3-point attempts. Kale Abrahamson had an off night as well, but his replacement, Nate Taphorn, impressed the crowd with his 9-minute opportunity.
The games highest scorers were Crawford and Ross. Crawford scored 22 points and landed 8 out of 13 shots. Ross had scored 16 points before the officials ejected him for shoving Crawford.