Necessity fueled the engine that powered the Northwestern Wildcats past Ohio State 86-82 in Evanston, Illinois, on Jan. 14.
Nearly two weeks later, Kelsey Mitchell remembered the heat that the Wildcats brought in the opening minutes of the game and how it led to a wire-to-wire upset of the Big Ten-leading Buckeyes.
Northwestern had lost three of its first four conference games when the Ohio State arrived with an eight-game winning streak. The Wildcats greeted the Buckeyes with claws bared.
“That was the case,” said Mitchell, who expects a similar ferocious effort from Northwestern (13-7, 2-6) tonight at Value City Arena.