Northwestern's Inconsistency Stays Consistent

If Northwestern could be consistent in shooting and ball handling they might become a pretty good team. However, at this point the only thing consistent about them is that they aren't. Put this game on the list of frustrating games you've seen as a Northwestern fan because Butler did nothing that really impressed me in this game but they came away with a win because they were more consistent team than Northwestern. They took care of the ball and didn't miss opportunities to take advantage of Northwestern mistakes whereas Northwestern turned the ball over too often and couldn't take advantage when Butler made mistakes.

I'm almost at a loss about what to say at this point. I feel NU has made some strides as a free throw shooting team and I like that Dave Sobolewski impacted the game on offense. We could talk a bunch about how Drew Crawford once again disappeared, but I blame coach Carmody for that. No reason existed sit Crawford the majority of the first half just because he had two fouls. Butler coach Brad Stevens had multiple players with two fouls on the court and since those guys were better than NU's subs it helped Butler build a lead. I would Stevens totally out coached Carmody in this matchup.

I'm still very worried about Northwestern in the Big Ten. If they don't hit threes they will lose. That means Jared Swopshire needs to start hitting some shots. Reggie Hearn and Drew Crawford need to get consistent and I really think NU's centers need to be allowed to shoot. I'm hopeful that when Nikola Cerina comes back from injury he will be at center because he has an outside shot which NU really needs the guy at that spot to have. I obviously want Northwestern to be good, but while the Baylor win was great we've seen more bad than good from NU at this point. I'd say at this point unless major improvements happen that NU will pull off some other big upsets, but they won't be consistent enough to win half their Big Ten games or even 7 or 8. Now, they'll take a long break before finishing their non conference season with three home games, two they should win and one vs Stanford which is a toss up. A 3-0 finish would be great, but it'll still be a disappointment considering how NU couldn't finish the UIC game and just disappeared at times tonight.