Northwestern's Kevin Coble, left, drives to the basket against Iowa's Jerryd Cole during the first half of an NCAA college men's basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009, in Evanston, Ill. (AP)

EVANSTON, Ill. - Kevin Coble had 16 points and nine rebounds as Northwestern beat Iowa 55-49 on Saturday.

Michael Thompson had 14 and four assists for the Wildcats (16-11, 7-9 Big Ten), who are trying to reach the postseason for the first time in a decade with two regular season games remaining.

Craig Moore scored 11 and John Shurna added seven for Northwestern, which hit 7-of-14 3-pointers in the second half and finished 13-4 at home.

Jake Kelly scored 23 and Matt Gatens added 11 for Iowa (14-15, 4-12), which lost for the 11th time in 14 games. The Hawkeyes fell to 1-11 on the road, including 0-9 in the Big Ten.

Iowa, which beat the Wildcats 56-51 on Feb. 7 in Iowa City on the strength of 14 3-pointers, hit 7-of-25 3-pointers and only 10-of-30 second-half shots.