Hot-shootingcats roll behind Sobolewski

Opponents know they need to focus on John Shurna and Drew Crawford when they play Northwestern. They might want to pay attention to Dave Sobolewski, too.

The freshman guard scored 23 points on 7-for-8 shooting and dished out seven assistswhile playing all 40 minutes as the Wildcats (15-8, 5-6 Big Ten) won their third in a row with an 83-64 victory against Iowa (13-12, 5-7) on Thursday night atwelsh-ryan Arena.

Shurna added 17 points, Reggie Hearn had 16 and all five starters scored in double figures for Northwestern, which shot 56.3 percent overall and was 13-for-25 on three-pointers..

“It’s a great feeling,” Sobolewski said. “And when your teammates are hitting shots, too, it’s real exciting.”

Northwestern built a ninepoint halftime lead and then blew it open, matching its longest conference winning streak since a three-game run late in the 2008-09 season.

“Teams have been keying on John and Drew all year,” said guard Alex Marcotullio, who finished with 13 points and six assists. “It’s time for other players to step up.”

Aaron White led Iowa with 17 points and 12 rebounds, but the Hawkeyes were overmatched. Besides watching Northwestern nail shot after shot, the Hawkeyes committed 18 turnovers in a performance that left coach Fran McCaffery struggling to find words.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked.

Actually, he acknowledged the matchup problems Northwestern causes with its smaller lineup, reliance on the three-pointer and the Princeton offense.

“It’s a tough lineup to match up to,” Mccaffery said. “They’ve got some drivers. They’ve got plenty of shooters, and we playmore of a traditional lineup.”