NUHoops.com

Michael Jenkins drained an open three-pointer at the buzzer as the Cats tipped No. 23 Iowa, 75-74, after an 12-point comeback in the final three minutes forced overtime. (box score)

Vedran Vukusic, who was considered doubtful for the game with an injured shoulder, scored a career-high 32 points. Vukusic had 13 points in the final two minutes.

The incredible comeback came with the aid of a number of Iowa miscues. The Hawkeyes turned the ball over and missed numerous free throws down the stretch. Iowa shot 57% from the line on the game.

After Northwested turned the ball over on a backdoor pass with three seconds to play, Iowa's Pierre Pierce inexplicably threw the inbound pass directly to guard T.J. Parker, who called timeout with 2.7 seconds.

That set up the inbounds play to a wide open Jenkins in the corner. His shot bounced and rolled in as the buzzer sounded.

The best part of the game may have been the reaction by Iowa coach Steve Alford before the final play of the game. Alford couldn't contain his anger at Pierce's turnover and had to call two timeouts to calm down. Apparently, the discussion was pointless as guard Jeff Horner left Jenkins wide open for the final shot.

"Everybody had their man except Jeff, and he wasn't paying attention to his guy," Alford said. "His guy never moved, just stood there in the corner. Jenkins never moved."

Suspended center Mike Thompson returned to action, but only played 16 minutes as he works his way back out of the doghouse. Mohammed Hachad played with more energy than we've seen this season, while Parker scored 12 points and was a threat offensively. Tim Doyle's passing led to several pretty scoring plays and his no-look inbounds pass to Jenkins won the game on the final play.

Northwestern is now 9-9 (2-4 in the Big Ten) and has some momentum for the first time of the season. There are 11 games left before the Big Ten tournament. Northwestern needs to win six of 11 in order to qualify for the NIT. One game is a non-conference game against Texas Corpus-Christi, so the Cats need to split the remaining 10 Big Ten games. Purdue and Penn State look like winnable games, but NU will need upsets over teams like Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota or another victory over Iowa.