An NU Top 10

10. NU Holds off Wisconsin in Remarkable Home Thriller

Northwestern had already played Wisconsin once. Back in early January, the Wildcats traveled to Madison still looking for their first Big Ten win of the season. And, what did they get? Well, they got themselves a good old-fashioned ass-whooping as the Badgers defeated the Wildcats 74 – 45. So, this January 31st game was the Wildcats chance at revenge. And after nearly losing to miserable Indiana at home three nights earlier, this was the Wildcats chance to regain respect in front of over 8,000 fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Well, they succeeded with a thrilling 66 – 63 win over a Wisconsin team that ended up making March Madness.

9. NU Does Their Part in Big Ten/ACC Challenge, Easily Defeating Florida

Does anybody besides me and a few sports nerds scattered around the country actually give a damn about the Big Ten/ACC Challenge? Probably not. But this game was still crucial for a young untested Wildcats team. This was the Wildcats first chance to prove they were for real, and they did it in style, defeating then-undefeated Florida State by 14 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats were particularly dominant in the second half, outscoring the Seminoles by a count of 40 to 23. This game also marked Ivan Peljusic’s best game of the season, as he scored 10 points for the victorious Wildcats.

8. Big Road Win at Purdue Keeps NU Tourney Chances Alive

Northwestern had to win if they wanted to keep their March Madness dreams alive, but could they? Against a Purdue team that was ranked in the top 20. Against a Purdue team that had dominated in-conference. In front of a raucous Purdue fan base. Could they? Yes, they could, and yes, they did. Craig Moore, Michael Thompson, and Kevin Coble all scored in double digits to lead the Wildcats to an impressive 64 – 61 victory over a heavily favored Boilermakers team.

7. A Future Inside the Arc

Northwestern relied a little too much on the three ball this year. There were times when the team’s only offense was a Craig Moore three. When times were good, Moore, Thompson, and Coble were all hitting threes and driving with effectiveness. But when the threes stopped falling, the Wildcats had an unfortunately tendency to look lost out there. The future is bright though. Luka Mirkovic had a phenomenal season, showing great potential game after game for the Wildcats. He gets rebounds. He has post-up moves. He can even hit a hook shot once in a while. And he can hit the occasional three to boot. And the much-maligned Kyle Rowley also showed some potential this season. He showed an ability to get position down low. Now, if he can just figure out how to make a lay-up, he and the Wildcats may end up going somewhere. The fact is that while he may not look pretty out there he’s got the size to get things done

6. NU Beats Ranked Minnesota at Home

This is the game when perennial doormat Northwestern decided they wanted to compete in the Big Ten this year. After losing virtually every Big Ten basketball game last year, this year’s Wildcats lost their first few before defeating #17 Minnesota at home. It was a huge upset, one that let fans know that this Wildcats team wasn’t going to roll over and play dead this year unlike years past.

5. NU Snaps Four-Decade Long Streak Winning Big in Indiana

It had been a while. A long while. 41 years to be precise. Yes, for a period of over four decades, the Wildcats lost every single road game they played against the Hoosiers. Their all-time record at Indiana’s Assembly Hall was 0 – 32. It stood as one of the most remarkable, and for Northwestern pathetic, streaks in college basketball history. Now, the streak is over. Yes, on February 25, 2009, Moore, Thompson, and Shurna each scored in double digits to mercifully lead the Wildcats to a 22-point victory over the Hossiers. On this day, the Wildcats played the Hoosiers on Indiana’s home court, and they won.

4. John Shurna’s Game-Winning Three Gives NU Home Win over Ohio State

Half the team had the flu. But nothing could stop the Wildcats on this February night. Not even a determined Jon Diebler who scored 28 and hit a game-tying layup with just 26 seconds remaining. Not even a miserable first half that left the Wildcats trailing by 9. No, this night belonged to John Shurna and the Wildcats. Shurna’s three-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining proved the difference and sent the home crowd into a frenzy. Northwestern 72, Ohio State 69. An instant Big Ten classic.

3. A Victory for the Ages

After a big victory at home against Minnesota (moment #5), no one gave the Wildcats much of a shot against Michigan State. But Northwestern showed January 21 that they are a team of many surprises. They shocked the world on that night, defeating the Spartans 70 – 63 in East Lansing. This was the first time in team history that the Wildcats were able to beat two ranked teams in a row. A Wildcat classic.

2. Making the NIT

Yes, it may not have ended in a first-round loss to Tulsa, but for a program that has only made the post-season four times, making the NIT was a real accomplishment, and  an honor. The game against Tulsa was tough. The Wildcats found themselves playing against a bigger stronger opponent. Yet, they gave Tulsa a scare, and emerged with their heads held high. An excellent year for Northwestern basketball, hopefully a herald of many good years to come.

1. Making Wildcats Fans Dream Again

After the football team capped off a successful 9 – 3 season with a trip to the Alamo Bowl, I was told to sit back and close my eyes as the basketball team fought their way through another stomach-turning season. Last year, the team got off to a good start, and then lost nearly every Big Ten they played. This year looked like more of the same. A great start. Then four straight Big Ten losses, including a 29-point loss to Wisconsin. And then suddenly, there was a spark. Several sparks. Minnesota. Michigan State. Wisconsin. Purdue. This team gave Wildcats basketball fans reason to believe and to dream. We now have expectations. Hopeful belief that our team has what it takes to win. And not just win, but maybe go farther. Thanks to this year’s Northwestern basketball team for making us believe again, for giving us a dream. Now, let’s hope that future teams can make this newborn dream come true.

Northwestern Suffers Yet Another First-Round Exit

At a funadmental level, basketball is really a very simple game. Each team tries their hardest to get the basketball in the hoop, either by shooting it from afar, or by driving towards the basket and laying it in. Then, when the other team has the ball, you do your best to get in their way, and keep them from getting to the hoop. Simple, right?

Of course, basketball is complicated by all sorts of terms and strategy. 1-3-1 zones and press-breeaks and all sorts of fancy language. Yet, when it comes down to it, sometimes it’s just about which team is better at getting the ball in the hoop.

So it was Thursday at the Conseco Fieldhouse, where the Minnesota Golden Gophers were in control for nearly the entire game, before running away with it at the end against the somewhat underwhelming Northwestern Wildcats. The final score of the game was Minnesota 66, Northwestern 53, and the final score well-reflected the relative talents of the two teams.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers have a legitimate offense and a swarming defense. The Wildcats, on the other hand, are one of the shakiest offenses in the Big Ten. The defense is streaky. When the Wildcats are getting turnovers, they’re one of the most effective defenses in the country. Yet, if you can just hold onto the ball, then you should be OK against our defense.

For once, rebounding was not Northwestern’s problem. as the Wildcats actually managed to out-rebound the Golden Gophers 34 – 32. Neither team turned the ball over very much. The Wildcats turned it over 13 times. The Golden Gophers gave it up just 9 times. Minnesota did block the Wildcats 11 times, a deeply significant number, but in the end, this game really came down to making shots.

Minnesota, with that steady offense, managed to shoot 44% from the field. Northwestern, on the other hand, shot just 32.7% from the field. And that was the difference. Minnesota simply did a better job of creating and making their shots. Simply put, they were superior at getting the ball in the hoop, and thus they won.

All season long, Northwestern has relied on two players for scoring: Kevin Coble, the slashing, off-balance shot making, lanky Northwestern forward, and Craig Moore, the pure three-point shooting threat. Both players have their issues. Coble’s crazy shots don’t always fall. But at least Coble can drive and rebound and do other stuff. When Moore’s shots aren’t falling, he’s practically useless.

Well, on Thursday, Coble scored 21 points and got 6 rebounds. He shot 6 of 11 from the field, making 3 of 4 from behind the arc and all 6 shots from the free-throw line. But Craig Moore’s stat line told the story of the game:

8 Points. 5 Rebounds. 3 – 16 Shooting. 2 – 14 Three-Point Shooting. 0 – 0 Free Throws.

Ideally, with Coble scoring 21 points, that should open up Moore, giving him chances to score. Yet, with Moore not able to get anything going, it didn’t matter. Moore was unable to make his shots. Northwestern lost. End of story. And possibly, end of season.

Minnesota VS. Northwestern

Minnesota vs. Northwestern.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers come into this game with a 21 – 9 overall record. Yet, here’s the key statistic. Minnesota is 12 – 0 when playing teams from outside the Big Ten. including an impressive  win over Louisville (currently #9 in RPI). Yet, they went just 9 – 9 in the Big Ten, losing to Northwestern, Purdue, and ending the season on a disappointing loss to Michigan. Minnesota will enter the Big Ten Tournament as the conference’s #8 seed.

And from the other door, enter the Northwestern Wildcats, one of the league’s most unpredictable teams this year. The Wildcats finished with an overall record of 17 – 12. Out of conference, they managed to beat Florida State at home and were nearly able to defeat Butler on the road. In conference, the Wildcats were frankly bizarre. Their overall record was 8 -10. It included impressive wins over nationally ranked Purdue, Minnesota, and Michigan State. They also racked up impressive wins over Ohio State and Wisconsin, and almost beat ranked Illinois. Yet, at the same time, the Wildcats got swept by Michigan and suffered embarassing losses to Michigan State and Illinios. The Wildcats enter the tournament ranked #71 in RPI.

The two teams split the season series. Northwestern won the first game at home by a score of 74 to 65. The keys to victory for Northwestern were:

1). The Wildcats competing on the glass. They were outrebounded 31 – 29, a pretty impressive effort for a team that has struggled all year with rebounding.

2). The Wildcats forced turnovers. 19 of them. The Wildcats need to do that today if they want to win.

3). The Wildcats got 42 points from Coble and Moore, but also got 32 from the rest of the team. Minnesota is a good defensive team. They will probably be able to limit Coble and Moore. Thus, the Wildcats will need players like Shurna, Thompson, and Mirkovic to step it up.

In the second game, Minnesota blew Northwestern out by a final score of72 to 45.

1). Rebounds: Minnesota 40, Northwestern 21. Enough said.

2). The Golden Gophers defense was simply dominant. No Wildcats player was able to score in the double digits. Whether it’s Shurna, Thompson, Moore, or Coble, someone is going to have to step up and score today if the Wildcats want to have any hope of winning this game and reaching Madness.

3). Shooting. The Golden Gophers shot over 50% from the field and 7 for 16 from behind the arc. Northwestern, on the other hand, was atrocious. All their shots seemed forced, and they ended up shooting just 14 for 46. Home-court advantage? Maybe. Northwestern must do a better job shooting the basketball in neutral Indiana if they wish to go anywhere.

That’s my game notes. Enjoy the game. I’ll be back afterwards. Thanks and goodnight!

An Apology and a Win

First, an apology. Work got a little crazy for me these past couple weeks, and as a result, I never did post on the Ohio State and Minnesota games. My sincere apologies about that. But if I can forgive the Northwestern Wildcats for that terrible effort in Minnesota, then I’m sure you can all find it in your hearts to forgive me. Moving on…

A Tight Game Turns Into A Blowout

A lot happened in the four decades since  Northwestern last won at Indiana. The endof the Vietnam War. The resignation of Richard Milhous Nixon. Stagflation. The fall of the shah. The end of the Cold War. And so much more. But finally, after 35 consecutive road losses and four decades. the Northwestern Wildcats were able to end the losing streak, defeating the Hoosiers decisively at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.

Northwestern came into the game with the much better record. 14 wins. 11 losses. An unimpressive 5 – 9 record in conference. Yet, this 5 – 9 record masks some truly impressive conference wins, including home wins over Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Minnesota and a crucial road win at Michigan State. It has been a surprisingly good season for Northwestern, a bright year that stands out from a gloomy history of defeat.

Meanwhile, Indiana came into the game with 6 wins and 20 losses, including a horrific 1 – 13 record in conference play. It has been a terrible year for Indiana basketball, one that stands out from what has historically been a glorious basketball program.

The first meeting between these teams took place on January 28, 2009 at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena. In that game, the Hoosiers started out on fire, grabbing an early lead. Then, Northwestern went on a run, and had a nine point with just seven minutes remaining. But it wouldn’t come easy for the Wildcats, who had to stave off a last Hoosier comeback before finally triumphing 77  – 75.

The first half of Wednesday’s game in Bloomington, Indiana was eerily similar to the team’s first meeting. The fast start from Indiana. The comeback by Northwestern. A close game at halftime. This time Northwestern led 30 – 25.

After ending the first half on a 23 – 10 run, Northwestern simply exploded in the second half, putting together one of their best offensive and defensive performances of the season. The Wildcats scored 45 in the second half. 15 of those 45 points coming off Indiana turnovers. The Wildcats also benefited from hot shooting, hitting over 65% of their shots from the field and draining 6 of 7 three-point attempts in the second half.

In the end, it wasn’t even close. The Hoosiers’ four-decade long streak over Northwestern is part of history now. The Wildcats made a statement Wednesday night. They didn’t just win. They destroyed. Northwestern 75, Indiana 53.

The Wildcats got strong efforts from a variety of players Wednesday night. Five Wildcats (Thompson, Coble, Nash, Moore, and Shurna) scored in the double digits. Craig Moore was particularly impressive, scoring 17, making 5 of 7 from behind the arc. The freshman were once again outstanding for Northwestern. Shurna had another strong game, finishing with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Meanwhile, Luka Mirkovic had another excellent game in the post, scoring 8 and getting 7 rebounds.

Indiana got a nice game from Kyle Taber, who scored 12 and grabbed 6 rebounds. On the other hand, Verdell Jones III was awful, notching more turnovers (7) than points (2). Tough game for the Hoosiers.

And now you have this Wildcats team, with just the slightest shot of reaching March Madness, but a fairly good shot at making the NIT. The next game, the Wildcats last home game of the year against an Iowa team that barely defeated the Wildcats in Iowa City, is huge. It will surely be an interesting fight to the finish.

The Dream Takes A Crushing Blow

Northwestern falls 56 – 51 in Iowa City.

Iowa guard Devan Bawinkel’s three-pointer with just over a minute left gave Iowa the lead, and a late turnover by Northwestern’s Michael Thompson helped seal the deal as the Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 56 – 51 Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Despite an excellent game from Luka Mirkovic (9 points and 6 rebounds in just 22 minutes), the Wildcats offense failed to produce Saturday, and as a result were dealt their sixth conference loss of the season, falling to 13 – 8 overall. Larry Coble had another quiet game for the Wildcats, scoring just 8 points. Craig Moore recorded 20 points, but made only 6 of 18 shots Saturday. All 18 of his shots were from behind the three-point line, which makes one wonder if Moore ought to consider varying his arsenal and adding a 14-foot jumper to his repetoire by the time the Wildcats host Illinois Thursday night. Moore is certainly capable of going to the hoop. So, the question is not “can he” but simply “will he?” Hopefully, the answer is yes to the latter. Because on a night like Saturday when the three isn’t falling, Moore will need to find other ways to contribute.

On the Hawkeyes side of the court, the team got strong play from Matt Gatens (13 points), Jeff Peterson (16 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds), and Jarryd Cole (7 rebounds). As a team, the Hawkeyes were excellent from behind the arc, going 12 for 30 (40%). They also shot well from the free-point line, making all but two of 18 attempts.

Northwestern still has a pretty good RPI. They are currently ranked 62. But they will probably need to beat Illinois Thursday to have any chance at March Madness.

Northwestern Keeps on Rolling, Defeating Chicago State 75 – 63

The Northwestern Wildcats managed to take care of business Wednesday night, defeating the Chicago State Cougars 75 – 63 in front of a small crowd of just over 3,000 at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Northwestern got off to a somewhat sloppy start Wednesday and only led by six points at the half, but after a dominant run to begin the second half, the game’s outcome was never in doubt. Northwestern led by as much as 22 in the second half and although a late comeback by Chicago State made the final score much more respectable, the Wildcats clearly controlled the game.

That being said, there were plenty of issues with the way Northwestern played Wednesday. The Wildcats were particularly sloppy in the first half, turning it over 8 times and shooting only 38.5%. Meanwhile, in the second half, the Wildcats were outscored in the paint 18 to 6, which serves as another reminder that Northwestern will really need Rowley and Mirkovic to step up if they want to go anywhere big.

In terms of individual performances, the stars certainly came out to play Wednesday night. John Catrell played a phonomenal game for the Cougars, notching 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting and adding 5 rebounds. David Holston also had a solid game for Chicago State, getting 22 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. Meanwhile, Craig Moore and Kevin Coble each played solid games for the Wildcats, with Moore notching 19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and Coble getting 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Definitely a solid comeback game for Coble after the mediocre effort he put out in the Wisconsin game.

Around the Big Ten

Meanwhile, two interesting games in the rest of the Big Ten. Indiana picked up an upset against Iowa, defeating the Hawkeyes 68 to 60. Once again, Iowa proved to be a beatable team, which bodes well for the Wildcats, who will look to improve on their 2 – 5 road record this Saturday in Iowa City.  Meanwhile, #13 Michigan State asserted their Big Ten superiority, crushing #19 Minnesota 76 to 47.

Ratings Percentage Index aside (as of Monday, Northwestern was 56 and Minnesota was 22), it seems that Northwestern is at about the same level as the Golden Gophers, and should stand a decent chance of winning their February 22 game in Minnesota.

The Dream Continues for Northwestern Basketball

The second half of Saturday night’s Wisconsin-Northwestern match belonged to Craig Moore, who made six out of six free throws in the final minute and got the steal that clinched Northwestern’s 66 – 63 win over the Wisconsin Badgers.

No one thought that victory would come easy for Northwestern, and sure enough it didn’t. Wisconsin played a good basketball game, shooting over 40% from behind the three-point line. They also out-rebounded the Wildcats, and managed to turn the ball over just 13 times against a usually intimidating Wildcats defense.

Yet, Northwestern played one of its best offensive games of the season Saturday night in front of 8,117 fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena, and thus emerged with the victory. They shot over 50% from the field. Better yet, they shot an unbelievable 61.5% (8 – 13) from behind the three-point line. And they only turned the ball over eight times.

Craig Moore led the way for Northwestern with 26 points, and Jeremy Nash added 9 including an incredible layup with just 26 seconds to go in the game. Michael “Juice” Thompson had 7 points and 7 assists. Luka Mirkovic had one of his better games as well, recording 7 points including a layup that put Northwestern up by 3 with just 1:30 remaining in the game.

Things to Worry About – Kyle Rowley made just 1 out of 6 free-throw attempts. In fact, despite Craig Moore’s perfect 8 for 8 performance, Northwestern still only shot 64.3% from the line on Saturday night. Also, Northwestern needs to start getting more rebounds. Wisconsin out-rebounded the Wildcats 27 to 16 on Saturday night. Finally, the Wildcats are not going to go 60% from three-point range every night, which means they’ll need to work on finding other ways to win (i.e. more turnovers, more fast breaks, more rebounds and second chance points…

Things to Feel Good About – The fact that Northwestern was able to beat Wisconsin despite getting a terrible performance from star forward Kevin Coble is encouraging. Coble shot 3 – 9 Saturday night, ending with just 7 points. Those 7 points marked his second-worst point total of the season, and was well below the 15.6 points per game he has been averaging this season. Yet, Northwestern somehow found a way to beat a tough team despite getting little from Kevin Coble. A good sign to be sure.

* I found this video on YouTube. It is entitled “Northwestern Wildcats Basketball vs. Wisconsin Badgers – 1/31/09″ and was placed there by NUBears.

Next Game: Chicago State @ Northwestern – Wednesday 7pm CT

Big Ten Evening Roundup – January 29

#9 Michigan State Spartans 71 @ Iowa Hawkeyes 56

Michigan State guard Lucas Kalin was nearly perfect Thursday night as he scored 24 points to lead the Spartans to a 71 – 56 victory over Iowa. He shot 9 of 13 from the field, had 4 assists, and only turned the ball over once in his 33 minutes on the court. Once again, the Spartans benefited from some strong individual rebounding efforts, including 11 from Goran Suton and 10 from Delvon Roe.

What this means for NU: Northwestern is done playing Michigan State, as far as the regular season is concerned. But the Wildcats do have two games coming up against the Iowa Hawkeyes, the first on February 7 in Iowa City and the latter on February 28 at home in Evanston.

Iowa looked pretty tough tonight. They actually managed to out-rebound Michigan State in the second half, which could mean trouble for the Wildcats, who have struggled from rebounding woes all season long.

Yet overall, Iowa and Northwestern would seem to be pretty evenly matched at this point. Definitely, the two games against Iowa are ones that the Wildcats can win.

#20 Illinois Fighting Illini 36 @ #24 Minnesota Golden Gophers 59

The Minnesota Golden Gophers followed a tough road win at Indiana with a dominant effort at home Thursday against the #20-ranked Fighting Illini Lawrence Westbrook led all scorers with 15 points and Ralph Sampson III. added 10 points and 7 rebounds to help lead the Golden Gophers to victory.

Turnovers weren’t the problem for the Fighting Illini. In fact, they only turned it over nine times. Instead, the problem for Illinois was that their offense simply lacked any sort of life. The Fighting Illini drained only 15 field goals in 51 tries (that’s a less than 30% shooting percentage), and they only got to the line seven times in the entire game. To make things worse, Illinois also got out-rebounded by the Golden Gophers.

What This Means for NU: Northwestern will host Illinois February 12 and play in Minnesota on February 22.

After Thursday night’s games, the Illinois game suddenly looks a much more winnable for the Wildcats. I mean if the Fighting Illini could only manage 36 points against the Golden Gophers, how can they expect to have much success against Northwestern’s excellent 1-3-1 zone defense. Minnesota, did on the other hand, look good Thursday. Yet, the Minnesota game is also winnable for the Wildcats. Minnesota has been highly inconsistent this season. They’ve lost to Purdue (a team that Northwestern nearly beat) and Michigan State (Wildcats and Spartans split their series), and barely beat Indiana (a team that Northwestern also edged). And Northwestern did beat the Golden Gophers earlier this season.

Next Game for Northwestern: Wisconsin @ Northwestern – 7:00 pm CT