BLOOMINGTON – No one had to say a thing.

IU senior forward Juwan Morgan had just limped off the court, putting barely any weight on his right leg as redshirt sophomore guard Vijay Blackmon and director of athletic performance Clif Marshall guided him to the bench. The Hoosiers trailed Northwestern by three points with 3:30 left in the game. The player IU seemed to need most, its offensive catalyst and veteran leader, winced in pain and looked unlikely to return.

Buzzer breakdown:Romeo Langford leads IU to 68-66 win over Northwestern

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Yet IU didn’t panic.

No one, on a team that appeared overwhelmed even with Morgan on the court against Duke, looked around curious about who might step up. Coach Archie Miller didn’t have to pull anyone aside and challenge them to deliver the program the season’s Big Ten opener.

Romeo Langford knew his place.

The freshman guard, the IndyStar Mr. Basketball and McDonald’s All American, hit IU’s next shot to bring the Hoosiers within one. Langford then blocked a shot by Northwestern’s Vic Law on the Wildcats’ next possession, and IU would soon take a one-point lead on free throws from junior guard Devonte Green.

Later, with 39 seconds left and the score tied at 63, he hit a floater to give the Hoosiers the lead for good. A lead he helped protect on Northwestern’s next possession as he deflected a pass off Law and out of bounds.

“Kind of looked at the group that we had and said this is kind of how we’re going to do it,” Miller said. “We stuck with those guys and did a good job defensively. And guys made a couple of really good plays. Romeo obviously had a couple big finishes for us in the last couple minutes.”

It’s unclear at this time what the extent of Morgan’s injury is. Miller told reporters after the game he didn’t know what happened and hadn’t had a chance to see Morgan or speak with the doctors or trainers about him. The team treated the last few minutes like it would if Morgan, who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, had fouled out.

What is clear, is Indiana (6-2, 1-0 in Big Ten) has rebounded from its blowout loss against Duke. The Hoosiers defeated a Wildcats (6-2, 0-1) squad that wasn’t fazed by Assembly Hall in a game neither team led at any point by more than five points. And IU’s star freshman showed he could take over a back-and-forth game that had 28 ties and 12 lead changes.

“We just knew that it was crunch time and we still gotta do what it takes to win,” said Langford, who led IU with 20 points.

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IU must improve from the free-throw line. TheHoosiers hit just 11 of 19 attempts, a 57.9 percent clip, but helped offset that with 16 points off 11 turnovers by the Wildcats. Just three made 3s on 11 shots didn't help either.

But IU’s offense still put up a 55.1 percent mark from the field. The Hoosiers, who at times this season have been without four or five players at a given practice, persevered through the struggles that came with lineups that lacked chemistry on offense and defense. They didn’t fold when the Wildcats responded to each run the Hoosiers tried to make. Or when Northwestern looked like it might pull away.

“It’s hard, man, you play a conference game like that this early in the season with that much at stake,” Miller said. “It’s an intensity level in there that’s not like any other nonconference game.”

Sophomore forward Justin Smith, who Miller said will be more confident on the floor once he’s able to take care of the ball better, echoed that sentiment when he said IU’s Big Ten schedule is “going to be a dogfight every night.” And until Morgan’s status is clear, the concern that came from the time he spent off the floor will likely linger.

But in those final moments IU showed it could, at least for a stretch, remain poised without him. That’s confidence the team will need if more close games are coming.

“It's definitely a reality check,” Green said. “If we're going to be coming down the wire almost every night maybe.”

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Follow IndyStar sports reporter Jordan Guskey on Twitter at @JordanGuskey or email him at jguskey@gannett.com.

INDIANA 68, NORTHWESTERN 66

NORTHWESTERN (6-2) — Turner 3-5 2-2 9, Law 6-14 2-3 16, Kopp 2-8 1-2 6, Pardon 11-15 2-3 24, R.Taylor 4-11 0-0 9, Nance 0-3 0-0 0, Benson 0-0 0-0 0, Gaines 1-5 0-0 2, Ash 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-61 7-10 66.

INDIANA (6-2) — Morgan 8-13 1-3 17, Smith 2-5 4-6 8, Durham 3-4 0-0 7, Langford 8-13 3-3 20, Phinisee 1-2 1-4 3, Fitzner 1-4 0-0 3, Davis 2-3 0-0 4, McRoberts 0-0 0-0 0, Green 2-5 2-3 6. Totals 27-49 11-19 68.

Halftime—Indiana 37-33. 3-Point Goals—Northwestern 5-17 (Law 2-4, Kopp 1-2, Turner 1-3, R.Taylor 1-5, Gaines 0-1, Nance 0-2), Indiana 3-11 (Durham 1-1, Langford 1-3, Fitzner 1-4, Green 0-1, Morgan 0-2). Fouled Out—Turner. Rebounds—Northwestern 29 (Pardon 10), Indiana 25 (Morgan 12). Assists—Northwestern 9 (Turner 3), Indiana 9 (Morgan 3). Total Fouls—Northwestern 20, Indiana 16.