Biggest Win in Program History (Until Thursday)

Northwestern started slow, exploded in the middle, and hung on late, but the end result was positive enough that the ‘Cats escaped with a 70-66 victory in Iowa City which puts NU at 8-10 in the Big Ten for the year and places the ‘Cats as the #7-seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Today’s win combined with a win on Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament against Minnesota will give NU a strong case for inclusion in the NCAA Tournament. A win on Thursday and Friday in the Big Ten Tournament will likely put NU into the 68-team field for certain.

Today’s win wasn’t easy. The ‘Cats were down 15 early and things looked kind of bleak. A switch to the 1-3-1 zone which continues to confound Iowa brought the ‘Cats back into the game and eventually allowed them to take a seven point halftime lead. That lead shrunk in the second half thanks to some good Iowa defense, but some clutch free throws by Dave Sobolewski and Alex Marcotullio allowed NU to get away with the win.

John Shurna was held in check by the Hawkeyes, but I was really impressed with the way the rest of NU’s team stepped up. Drew Crawford was the headliner as he scored 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. He also made 6-of-7 free throws after going 1-of-5 from the free throw line on Wednesday night. Crawford really does seem to determine his success based on his first shot and after his first free throw feel in today he had a great day at the line. He also had a career high 5 steals and was one of several Wildcats who was very active in the 1-3-1 zone.

Another Wildcat who was active in that zone was JerShon Cobb who scored 13 points and made several clutch shots. He might not be 100% yet, but his ability to be on the court and in the rotation has been huge as it allows NU to balance playing time a little more and be at least somewhat fresher in the game’s final moments than they were earlier this year.

Cobb combined with effective play from Reggie Hearn and Alex Marcotullio make Northwestern a team which has options and support for Drew and John. That support was there today. It really wasn’t vs Ohio State. If the NU stars get support from the supporting cast, then NU has a great chance to win games. Even David Curletti stepped up today with 7 points his four offensive rebounds helped NU get 11 second chance points which is a stat the ‘Cats rarely are strong in.

So now it’s on to the Big Ten Tournament and Minnesota. It should be a good matchup for NU in the sense that they should be able to employ the 1-3-1 zone thanks to Minnesota’s lack of depth shooting. The Gophers have athletes on the glass, but if NU turns them over and shots decently from three it seems like NU’s got a chance to get another biggest win in program history.

The Most Important Game in School History (Really, We Mean It This Time)

Northwestern has played a series of “most important” games over the past two weeks. In those two weeks we as fans have felt some major highs and some major lows, but to borrow from NU’s football program the only question that matters is what’s important now? And the answer is the game against Iowa on Saturday afternoon. If the Wildcats win that game and one Big Ten Tournament game I believe they’ve got a great shot at the NCAA Tournament as the bubble isn’t that strong. So, I guess NU is basically playing in the Big Ten Tournament already in the sense that a win makes a major difference in the team’s future compared to a loss.

The Hawkeyes have been playing very well of late and they’ve been a strong home team all during the Big Ten season. However, they’ve got some tough losses on their resume and Northwestern made them look terrible against the 1-3-1 zone when the two teams met in Evanston. You would think Iowa would have practiced against the 1-3-1 since then, but they looked bad enough I’m not sure there could be enough practice that could see the Hawkeyes solving the defense.

If Iowa were to solve the riddle of NU’s 1-3-1 zone, I think the guy who will be most responsible is Matt Gatens. A senior playing in his last home game (well, maybe not if Iowa hosts an NIT game) Gatens has shown the ability to knock down shots in bunches. Before an average game vs Nebraska, he was on a total tear as the Hawkeyes beat Indiana and Wisconsin.

Iowa’s other star to contain is Roy Devyn Marble. Marble’s size makes him a tough matchup and he’s taken on the role as one of Iowa’s primary ball handlers as Bryce Cartwright missed some time due to injury. I’m not sure who would guard Marble if NU played man-to-man so that might be another good reason to play the zone.

Height-wise Iowa’s front court isn’t one that dominates NU in terms of size or athletic skill. However, Aaron White concerns me as does an improving Melsahn Basabe. Both seem to have that desire to be aggressive and get rebounds that sometimes I think the NU front court lacks.

For Northwestern to win this game they need to successfully force turnovers and make three point shots. Northwestern has been able to cover a lot of mistakes with made threes this season. Hopefully, the ‘Cats remember their lights-out shooting performance against Iowa in Iowa City last year and play with confidence.

I think this is going to be a very close game (which is no shock the way the Big Ten’s gone this season). Northwestern hasn’t been great in close games this year, but for whatever reason I feel confident about this game. I think we’ll see a Northwestern team that plays with focus and for once isn’t overcome by the magnitude of the event. I predict: Northwestern, 71 Iowa, 67

Best Game of the Year

Tonight’s 83-64 win over Iowa was the best game Northwestern has played so far this year. If the ‘Cats had been a little better from the free throw line I might say it was as good as they were capable of playing. Regardless, I thought Northwestern ran their offense to perfection and played very strong defense getting their hands on passes in the 1-3-1 and making life equally difficult for Iowa to score when in man-to-man.

This win is NU’s third in a row and that winning streak correlates with the emergence of other scorers for the ‘Cats beside John Shurna and Drew Crawford. The most significant to me is freshman guard Dave Sobolewski. Sobo stepped up tonight with 23 points and 7 assists (against 3 turnovers) in 40 minutes of action. He also recorded four steals. It’s tough replacing what Juice Thompson did last year for NU when he played as well as any Wildcat I’ve seen in his final 10 or so games, but Sobolewski seems to be now where Juice was when Juice was a sophomore or junior. Juice led both those teams to the postseason and Sobolewski seems to be leading this team in the same direction and maybe even to a more prestigious spot in the postseason.

Another non-star who stepped up for NU was Reggie Hearn who followed up his 20 point game versus Illinois with 16 points tonight vs Iowa. Alex Marcotullio started slow, but pretty much ended the game himself when he went on an individual 9-0 run that put a stop to any Iowa hopes for a comeback.

As far as NU’s stars, Drew Crawford, like did vs Illinois, wasn’t as significant as some other guys in the scoring column (11 points tonight), but he makes an impact on defense and on the glass and tonight dished out four assists. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Drew have a huge game Sunday at Purdue as Drew tends to be a streaky player and the percentages say his outside shot will fall more Sunday after two games where he’s struggled from distance.

John Shurna was his solid self on offense with 17 points. He needs to make more of his free throws, but actually the play that impressed me most with Shurna was a rebound. He tapped the ball up to himself then controlled it in the midst of a couple Iowa players. The getting that 50/50 ball just seemed to show the intensity with which Shurna was playing and I’ve seen the same focus the last few games. If Shurna and his teammates keep that focus up they’ve got a real shot to pull off a couple upsets in the next week.

Finally, I have to give some credit to Nick Fruendt who saw some action tonight. He knows what’s going on and while he hasn’t scored in this game or the win over Michigan State, he saw significant action in both games and with Luka Mirkovic and JerShon Cobb still on the bench; Fruendt is an important player for Northwestern.

Where Are We? What Does It Mean? Are the Questions to ask as Northwestern Plays Host to Iowa.

I said before the Purdue game that I thought I’d be better able to evaluate Northwestern after their next three games. The Wildcats went 2-1 in those games and could have gone 3-0. They actually outrebounded teams and played with as great a sense of urgency as a Bill Carmody team ever has. What does that all mean? It means that somehow Northwestern now stands at 4-6 in the Big Ten. That’s not great, but it also means that the ‘Cats have a very good chance at winning at least four, if not five, more games before the end of the season as long as they continue to play with the same focus and intensity they have brought to their last three games.

Northwestern still has some issues related to defense and depth has been a problem, but they’ve gotten better efforts from their supporting cast, especially guard Dave Sobolewski in the scoring column, these past two games and that has been enough to push NU into position to earn another shot at playing their way into the NCAA Tournament. And that’s what it really comes down to at this point. The ‘Cats have eight regular season games left. No doubt if the season ended today the ‘Cats wouldn’t make the Big Dance, but unlike past seasons where it seemed NU was just prepping for a late season collapse, this year’s team seems to be positioning themselves at a spot where a good stretch run could play themselves into the history books. The first step is to beat an Iowa team that NU seems to matchup with favorably.

Iowa’s 5-6 Big Ten record is obviously similar to Northwestern, but Iowa seems to be a far less consistent team than Northwestern. As depressing as most of NU’s losses have been, they’ve really only been out of three games all season. Iowa has had some great wins, but they also have days where they simply don’t play defense. While defense isn’t a strong point for Northwestern either, offense is a strong point for the Wildcats and if Iowa doesn’t step it up on defense it’ll be a big day for John Shurna, Drew Crawford, Sobolewksi, and Reggie Hearn. Also, Iowa doesn’t start a player over 6-8 so if Luka Mirkovic can return from his injury this and the Sunday game at Purdue (who also doesn’t have a starter over 6-8) could be two games in which Luka could make his presence known on offense and really regain his confidence.

Iowa’s offense starts with Matt Gatens who is an excellent shooter and someone NU can’t afford to let get his feet set against the zone. The Hawks also have guard Roy Devyn Marble who has shown the ability to score in a number of ways. If NU goes man-to-man look for Marble and Bryce Cartwright to try to force Sobolewski guard them on drives to the hoop. Inside Iowa freshman Aaron White has hit the glass well during Big Ten season, NU can’t allow the freshman to give Iowa second chances. Hopefully, that’s where NU’s size advantage plays a role.

I’m counting on NU’s offense in this game. I think Iowa will score some points, but from watching the Hawkeyes this season, I don’t think they’ll stop Northwestern. I predict: Northwestern, 88 Iowa, 74

Northwestern Snaps Losing Streak; Sweeps Hawkeyes for First Time Since 2004

As expected this was a close game between two teams who were seeking to break losing streaks. Iowa is certainly improved from the team NU beat in January and while beating them isn’t a major accomplishment, this is a good win to get as NU moves to 5-9 in the Big Ten and knocks Iowa back to 3-11.

With the victory Northwestern HAS won their last two games and home and HAS played really well in their last three home contests. However, NU’s inability to win on the road has really been their problem the last two seasons. Last year NU only won on the road at Michigan in Big Ten play and this year they’ve only won on the road at Iowa. While the odds are this game won’t silence Bill Carmody’s critics (and really should it? Probably not yet.) and certainly won’t get Northwestern in the NCAA Tournament or even the NIT, the fact is Northwestern has a real good chance to make the NIT if they can continue to win at home. However, NU’s remaining home slate includes Penn State, who dominates NU’s men’s hoops squad with the same ease the NU football team dominates Iowa (and their aren’t many teams that dominate another team like NU does the Hawks in football), and Minnesota, a possible tournament team. In their other remaining games NU is at Indiana on short rest (Bill Carmody ripped the Big Ten office’s scheduling for this short rest road trip on WGN after the game) this Saturday and has to go to Madison, Wisconsin where they’ll try to be just the 13th opponent in the last decade to beat the Badgers on their home court. NU may very well be underdogs in every remaining game and that means that the ‘Cats will need an even better effort than their uneven effort tonight to get themselves in the NIT.

The best part of tonight was NU’s return to a pretty smooth offensive system (other than missed layups). The ‘Cats came out hot early and did job of moving the ball and shooting early in the shot clock if the opportunity presented itself. NU finished with 17 assists on their 27 made fields. They also made 12 threes which were, of course, ten more than Sunday at Penn State. No doubt exists that NU shoots better at home which is probably why they are 11-3 at home and 4-7 in locations that aren’t Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Four of NU’s five starters scored in double-figures and JerShon Cobb posted 8 points and 6 rebounds while only hitting 3-of-9 field goals and 1-of-4 free throws (after coming into the game as NU’s top free throw shooter) which means he could have scored more. Juice Thompson led NU with 16 points and 9 assists. Although he only hit 1-of-4 threes, he made a number of huge shots which once NU regained the lead early in the second half kept Iowa from making any sort of run to get the advantage back. Drew Crawford scored 15 points of his own and had an awesome tip on an Alex Marcotullio miss which turned out to be a big play as well. He also had 4 assists and 4 steals. Also, I take some comfort in the fact that 1/3 of NU’s made threes came from John Shurna who hit 4 treys and scored 15 points. However, Shurna still looked a little off at times. He’s missed way more free throws than before his injury and only got two rebounds, but he did show some ability to elevate on a give-and-go dunk.

NU’s final doube figure starter was Luka Mirkovic. Let me say that Luka hitting 2-of-2 threes is huge. I think NU becomes a remarkably better team if Luka is freed to take threes and knocks them done. Also, the fact is that Luka was pretty bad playing on the inside hitting only 3-of-8 two point shots, which means he might be better off shooting the wide open threes he gets anyway. I don’t understand how a guy who is almost seven feet tall can’t convert from two feet away, but Luka often can’t. Yet, somehow he finished today with 13 points and was really the guy who wont he game for Northwestern. He also got seven rebounds, though, if he could jump at all he’d probably have doubled that total. Still, he was better than Davide Curletti who played one of his weakest games of the season posting just a rebound and 3 fouls in 12 minutes. Both need to be much better against Indiana on Saturday.

Indiana, like Iowa, has gotten better since NU played them last and Coach Carmody clearly thinks NU is at a disadvantage based on his short rest rant to WGN, but the bottom line is that Northwestern needs to beat IU just as badly as they needed to beat UI tonight if they want to secure a postseason bid (and really get the heat off their coach) before the regular season’s final days.

Iowa and Northwestern Both Trying to Snap Losing Streaks

Northwestern and Iowa are 4-9 and 3-10 respectively in the Big Ten and both have lost their last two games. Only Indiana has been worse than these two squads, but Northwestern still has something to play for in this game as they could still qualify for the NIT with a nice end to the season. I think if NU wins their three remaining home games and matches last year’s 7-11 Big Ten record they likely will make the NIT. If they lose this contest or any of the others they’ll very likely drop out of the NIT and maybe to 10th or 11th place in the Big Ten. That’s why this game is so important and why some might argue that Northwestern coach Bill Carmody is facing down unemployment as much as the Hawkeyes.

When these two teams last met Northwestern pounded Iowa in one of the best Big Ten games NU has played in recent memory. Since then things have gone more south for NU and north for Iowa. Iowa pulled off a couple nice upset wins against Michigan State and at Indiana while Northwestern has managed to embarrass themselves against Wisconsin and Penn State.

Iowa’s step forward has been led by point guard Bryce Cartwright who has mastered the ability to get his own shot against teams which lack a guard quick enough to defend him. His shot to beat Indiana has to be a high point in what has been a tough year for the Hawkeyes. Against NU, I expect Iowa to try and run pick and rolls as Penn State and Michigan did in order to isolate Cartwright on a big such as Luka Mirkovic. If that happens and NU switches, Cartwright will score with ease and I think I’ll encourage a walk out at Welsh-Ryan. NU has constantly been burned because they don’t fight through screens. It’s terribly fundamentally unsound basketball and needs to change, but NU hasn’t made such a change yet.

At 12.5ppg Matt Gatens is Iowa’s top scorer and is a three point threat to be contended with if NU tries to go 1-3-1, however, I’m really worried about 6-5 forward Eric May. May is kind of Iowa’s Drew Crawford. He can go off and score 25 points, but he might also post five. If he has a good night Iowa is much much more likely to win just as NU is when Crawford plays well. NU has to defend May’s three and keep him from getting easy drives as well. In the front court with May, Iowa has Jarryd Cole and Melshan Basabe. Basabe scores 10.5ppg and gets 7.0rpg and is a decent shot blocker, but at only 6-7 he is a little smaller than the guys NU will play up front. With Cole being just 6-7 as well, NU could get a number of baskets from Luka Mirkovic.

As has been the case a number of times this year, I have no idea what to expect from Northwestern. Will they pack it in and wait for the season to end or do they still want to keep competing for a postseason bid. I think by playing at home NU should be more motivated and I think Iowa’s lack of size really works to NU’s advantage. Hopefully, NU will play quick and be confident and hit some threes as they did at Iowa. That would be huge because other than a few nice games by Juice Thompson NU hasn’t shot well in a long time. A stretch of hot shooting to end the year is really what NU needs. I predict: Northwestern, 81 Iowa, 80

Wildcats Notch Critical Conference Road Win With Blowout of Hawkeyes

Although Iowa isn’t the strongest opponent the Big Ten has to offer Northwestern’s 90-71 win over the Hawkeyes tonight is still significant. It gives Northwestern their first conference road win of the season and moves them to the middle of the pack in the Big Ten standings. In addition, NU maintains the strongest point of its potential tournament resume which is that the ‘Cats have no bad losses. At some point they need to post a signature win, but avoiding embarrassing defeats hasn’t always been an NU strong suit so a dominate win over a weaker Iowa team is a good feat. You also have to be both impressed, and kind of amazed, that a Northwestern team which was once lambasted from every corner of the Earth for its slow deliberate pace of play now has scored 90 points in consecutive Big Ten conference games and, to be frank, if Coach Carmody hadn’t tried to use the entire bench in the first half NU probably could have posted about 55 points in the 1st half and maybe gotten to 100 points in the game.

The great thing about this win was the multiple positive contributions from a number of players. It wasn’t just one or two guys doing one or two things that took NU to victory. It seemed everybody who played significant minutes tonight made significant contributions. The MVP of the contest, and a guy I was thrilled to see step up because I think he’s a huge key for NU, was Drew Crawford. Crawford got the ‘Cats going with four deep threes early in the game to begin the Wildcat three point assault (5-of-9 3PT over and 19 total points), but also ended up leading the team with 6 rebounds in the contest. The ‘Cats also got 3-of-6 three point shooting from Juice Thompson who had struggled a bit with his deep shot in recent games. In addition to scoring his 17 points, Juice also had 5 assists, 3 steals, and became NU’s all-time leader in minutes played. John Shurna is looking healthier and healthier each day and today totaled 16 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals. JerShon Cobb totaled 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Luka Mirkovic had 8 points and 4 assists in a game where he probably could have scored more, but had to contend with foul trouble and the fact his teammates were drilling threes left and right so they didn’t feel much need to throw the ball inside. Alex Marcotullio made every shot he took for 8 points and 3 assists and even Davide Curletti got into the act with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Basically, every Wildcat who saw more than a little time qualified as what CBS’s Clark Kellogg would call, “a stat sheet stuffer.”

NU even played decent defense for much of this game. The Wildcats did a great job in the first half in the switching man-to-man of denying passing lanes and making it very hard for Iowa to enter the ball. This forced a number of Hawkeye turnovers. The only real problem NU had was if Iowa’s Bryce Cartwright got the ball in a position to aggressively attack the basket. In the second half NU struggled a bit early, but was able to limit Cartwright and his teammates’ aggressiveness when they switched to the 1-3-1 zone which bogged down Iowa’s attack and resulted in a number of easy baskets (including a John Shurna dunk) for NU. If NU can continue to switch defenses appropriately and play with the necessary effort to prevent easy passes and looks at the hoop they have a chance to pull some upsets and get a signature win. No team is going to be perfect, but NU has enough offensive weapons that if they play enough defense to keep themselves in games they will give themselves a chance to win.

That’ll be put to the test on Saturday when NU travels to Michigan State. This year’s Michigan State is beatable (NU almost did so in Evanston), but it’ll still take a better than average defensive effort along with NU’s strong shooting and an effort like tonight where NU won the rebounding battle 36-25 to knock off the Spartans in their building.

Wildcats Seek First Conference Road Win at Iowa

The post Bill Carmody extension era begins Wednesday night in Iowa City as Northwestern travels to play the Hawkeyes. While I can’t say an NU victory will justify Jim Phillip’s decision to extend Bill Carmody’s contract for what the Chicago Tribune reports is two more years, I do think a win would convey a positive message of progress for Northwestern this season. Last year NU was abysmal on the road they beat N.C. State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and Michigan in Big Ten play, but other than that didn’t post a “true” road win. Two years ago NU briefly flashed road warrior status with wins at ranked Michigan State and ranked Purdue, but overall Bill Carmody hasn’t demonstrated great success away from Welsh-Ryan Arena. Therefore, getting a win at Iowa would at least show fans that NU has improved over last season as a victory would be NU’s third “true” road win of the year.

If NU is to make that happen they need to duplicate much of their offensive game plan from Sunday against Indiana. Iowa doesn’t start a player over 6-7. Therefore, NU should be able to feed the ball inside to Luka Mirkovic and get him on the scoreboard early. If Luka starts hot in a game he usually stays hot and it opens up passing lanes for NU to find space for jump shots. That’s particularly important right now because since his ankle injury John Shurna requires a little more space and time to get a shot off.

Iowa is in many ways a lot like Northwestern. They’re a team that is probably going to get most of their points from the guard and small forward positions, but if they get inside production their chances of winning jump significantly. Also like NU, the Hawkeyes prefer to play a relatively high scoring game. If both teams shoot well and refuse to play defense it wouldn’t surprise me to see the game played with the final score for both sides in the 90s. The Hawkeyes best statistical player is Matt Gatens who scores 12.7ppg and makes 34.2% of his threes, but the player I’m most worried about is forward Eric May. May is one of those guys who has the ability to do a number of things well. He makes 46% of his threes, gets four rebounds a game, and averages double figures. His big weakness is that he isn’t a great free throw shooter. The other Hawkeye who averages double figures is point guard Bryce Cartwright. Cartwright took over those duties when Cully Payne got hurt and has been solid if not spectacular in taking care of the basketball with 69 assists and 47 turnovers. He isn’t a great shooter however at just 26% from three and if you force him to give up the ball the rest of the Hawkeyes have more turnovers than assists. It’ll be interesting to see if NU tries to play some 1-3-1 and trap Cartwright. If they do so, they better not leave May open in the corner. In some ways this would be great game to play a triangle and two or a box and one and focus man defenders on May and/or Gatens and try and let the rest of the Hawkeyes do enough to win.

As good as the perimeter players for both sides are, I’m anxious to see how Luka Mirkovic deals with Iowa’s Jarryd Cole and Melsahn Basabe. Both are smaller than Luka at 6-7, but Cole has shown the ability to be very physical, which sometimes knocks Luka back, and Basabe has long arms and will block Luka if he goes to the hoop with his weak flipper layups. Luka needs to stay tough and his teammates need to get him the ball in good position to score as they did versus Indiana.

I’d love to say I think Northwestern’s defense will show up in this contest and NU will blow the Hawkeyes out, but I just can’t see that happening. I can, however, see a contest where the fact NU has just a few more guys who score than Iowa makes a difference and results in a close Northwestern win. I predict: Northwestern, 88 Iowa, 85

NU’s Top 5 Wins (both basketball and football) over Iowa since ‘95

Okay, I’m going to jump on the ongoing message board debates between NU and Iowa fans over at Wildcat Report with today’s post. In this post I’m looking back at recent contests between NU and Iowa in both football and basketball in effort to come up with a top five. NU has had enough success in football and basketball versus the Hawkeyes since 1995 that a number of choices exist. I think I’ve picked the best, but feel free to disagree.

5. 1996 football Northwestern, 40 Iowa, 13

The Wildcats and the Hawkeyes were a national TV contest on ABC with Keith Jackson on the call and most expecting a tight low scoring Big Ten contest. NU altered the script by burying the Hawkeyes thanks to typical great mid-1990s defense, a key trick play, and loads of yards from Darnell Autry. NU could have scored more, but instead of run up the score like Hayden Fry had on him, Gary Barnett made his point in the opposite manner by calling runs up the middle at the end of the game even though NU had the ball in the red zone.

4. 2004 basketball Northwestern, 51 Iowa, 49

With 0.7 seconds left Vedran Vukusic sunk a jumper from the top of the key to give the Wildcats a series sweep of the Hawkeyes for the first time since 1959. It was the first of three years in a row in which the Wildcats would beat the Hawkeyes in the games final moments.

3. 2009 football Northwestern, 17 Iowa, 10

Dan Persa takes over for an injured Mike Kafka and leads the ‘Cats to a game deciding TD to help top the #4 ranked Hawkeyes on the road. Corey Wotton made the game’s biggest play by sacking Hawkeye QB Ricky Stanzi in the endzone and causing a fumble which Marshall Thomas recovered for the ‘Cats first TD.

2. 2005 football Northwestern, 28 Iowa, 27

14 points in the last 3:28 from a Tyrell Sutton TD, an outside kick recovery, and a Ross Lane TD catch allowed the Wildcats to pull the stunner of all stunners on a Hawkeye squad which was already celebrating a victory.

1. 2005 basketball Northwestern, 75 Iowa, 74

Michael Jenkins in the corner drills a game winning three pointer at the buzzer which hits every part of the rim before dropping in. Even more amazing, though, was NU’s 12 point comeback in the final three minutes of regulation to send the game to OT. Some people might think one of the football wins ranks higher, but I challenge anyone who was at this game to disagree. Just think how you felt when Jenkins’s ball finally decided to go in.

So I might have left you favorite game off this list. It was tough a list to make. Several other games like the 2008 football win or Craig Moore’s final home game at Welsh-Ryan Arena almost made the list. Feel free to disagree and tell me what I missed.

Welcome to the Big Ten Fran (and Margaret) McCaffery

The Iowa Hawkeyes have a new head coach

In a move that surprised me, and I believe other Big Ten fans, the University of Iowa has hired Fran McCaffery as their head basketball coach. This is something of a surprise move when you consider that Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobsen was in the same state, took his team farther than McCaffery, and beat McCaffery’s squad by 17 points. It is also a surprise that it seems Iowa never reached out to Tennessee coach and former Tom Davis assistant Bruce Pearl. The odds are Pearl wouldn’t have been interested, but it seems nobody bothered to ask. Even odder, perhaps, is that this job didn’t go to Tom Davis’s son Keno who has coached in-state at Drake and is now at Providence. Perhaps Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta’s apparent disregard for these guys is why many in the Hawkeye fan base seem less than pleased with this hire. Perhaps they also see a lot of similarities between McCaffery and former coach Todd Lickliter who fans in Iowa never warmed up to. It will be interesting to watch how McCaffery gets welcomed to Iowa or, based on this years attendance, if anyone shows up to welcome him at all.

Though the choice seems odd, McCaffery’s background is pretty solid. He was an assistant coach and top recruiter at Notre Dame for 11 years. He’s gotten Siena into the postseason the last three years and pulled off an impressive win over the Big Ten’s Ohio State last season. Obviously he’s skilled enough to coach, but the real question will be can he recruit to the Big Ten? Lickliter had plenty of success at Butler, but he couldn’t consistently recruit or keep Big Ten players. As a result, McCaffery will inherit a team that isn’t exactly loaded. Will Iowa fans be patient? I doubt it. The fans in Iowa City aren’t happy and they aren’t going to welcome another mediocre season from another mid-major coach.

They better be careful if they voice their displeasure, though, because Fran McCaffery’s wife might be listening. Fran’s wife, Margaret, isn’t afraid to share her opinion. She gained a great deal of national attention when both she and Fran were ejected from a 2006 game at Hofstra. He got tossed first and she followed after cursing out an official. A few years later she entered a postgame press conference and when her husband declined to answer a question on some questionable officiating, she declared official Will Bush “horrendous.”

If she thinks Bush is bad, I really have to wonder what she would think of Curtis Shaw. The fact is Margaret McCaffery knows what she is talking about. She was once an assistant basketball coach at Notre Dame and ranks in the top-15 on the Fighting Irish scoring list, so she clearly knows what she is talking about. That said, when the Hawkeyes come to Evanston, I’m not sure I want to sit next to her. Of course, it couldn’t be as bad as my experience sitting behind Bo Ryan’s family and listening to one of his children drop f-bombs at officials until she was asked to stop by the scorer’s table.

So I’d like to welcome Fran and Margaret McCaffery to the Big Ten. It should be an interesting experience for them both on and off the court.

Revenge Served for NU: Shurna’s 29 points allow ‘Cats to Payback Hawkeyes with 74-57 Victory

John Shurna has been working all season to make a case for All-Big Ten honors

Everybody associated with Northwestern basketball must have uttered something along the lines of, “Well, that’s more like it,” when tonight’s game ended. I know I did. For the first time since a home victory over Indiana on February 7th, Northwestern seemed to show up for both halves of a basketball game. The result was NU’s best win since that early February contest. The victory was keyed by a strong start which involved baskets from Drew Crawford and Luka Mirkovic, but without a doubt the star of the game was John Shurna who finished with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocked shots. Shurna might not be first team All-Big Ten give the loaded talent field in the league, but his game is as well-rounded and versatile as any other candidate for that honor. Plus, as just a sophomore, both Shurna and his team are getting smarter about understanding what he can do.

I think NU learned something in the second half at Wisconsin about how they do not have to settle for threes to score points. Tonight, Northwestern was 22-of-30 on two point field goal attempts. 6 of those 22 makes were from Shurna and 5 each came from Luka Mirkovic and Michael “Juice” Thompson. Without a doubt, Northwestern will continue to shoot and make three pointers, however, NU will get more open three pointers if they attack and score inside consistently. This occurred in the second half at Wisconsin and it occurred from the opening tip tonight. What will make this strategy work consistently, and what helped tonight, is Luka Mirkovic’s continued development and John Shurna’s smart play. The last two games Mirkovic has been able to score inside almost at will with a variety of up-and-under moves, pump fakes, and drop steps. Shurna has also become more assertive inside and is attacking going at the basket off the dribble or off backdoor cuts instead of trying 10+ threes in a game. As a result, these two players, who have a size advantage of many opponents, get easy looks at the basket which they can covert to two points without much trouble. In Shurna’s case, it allows him open threes as well since teams fear his attack at the hoop and they then back off him and give him space to shoot. Tonight, Shurna made 4-of-6 three point shots and he got his first open look because he scored twice on backdoor cuts and Iowa stepped off him a bit. Hopefully, NU will continue to attack the paint with Mirkovic and Shurna. If they do so, I believe they will be successful. However, these two players must convert free throws. Shurna overall has been good from the line, but Mirkovic is inconsistent and must improve as a commitment to getting him the ball will result in him shooting free throws.

Michael “Juice” Thompson’s willingness to attack the hoop tonight also deserves note. Now, certainly Thompson was better able to attack against Iowa because they didn’t have a 7-foot shot blocker, but with his speed Thompson should be able to get the ball inside fairly consistently as a result of drives when NU overloads one side of the court, spread floor situations, or backdoor cuts. He may not always been able to shoot in these situations, he is just 5-10, but these types of drives also open passing lanes. Tonight, Thompson scored 12 points (10 on 5-of-5 from inside the three point line) and dished out 6 assists against only 1 turnover. That’s a great game for a point guard. Also, Thompson is a good enough outside shooter that he doesn’t have to worry about getting and making three point looks. His three point attempts and makes will come as long as NU runs the offense without panic.

I feel the same way about Jeremy Nash. Nash finished his Big Ten home career with a 15 point night. He made 2-of-6 threes, but 4-of-4 inside the arc, including an impressive three point play. At about 30%, Nash isn’t a great three point shooter, but when he gets looks where he has time to set his feet he usually makes shots. Those looks generally come when Nash ends up wide open as result of a well run Princeton Offense that has at some point tossed the ball inside or gotten a Thompson drive.

I also want to give some credit to NU’s bench play tonight. Three players, Davide Curletti, Alex Marcotullio, and Mike Capocci all played double-digit minutes. That’s rare for NU. They only scored 4 points, but they hustled on defense and ended up with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a blocked shot. Capocci recorded the block on a jump shot and it showed off his athletic skill. I also liked seeing Curletti scrap down low for rebounds (5 total) and look for guys to pass the ball in the offense (3 assists), if he keeps giving NU solid minutes off the bench it will give Mirkovic time for much needed breaks.

Lastly, tonight wasn’t senior night, as originally reported. However, NU did honor a couple alums. First, NU’s newest Board of Trustees member, Michael Wilbon, was honored at halftime of the game. Also, former NU player, coach and retiring Big Ten Associate Commissioner Rich Falk was honored by NU AD Jim Phillips. On Wednesday, NU will hold senior night as the ‘Cats take on Chicago State. Odds are the crowd will be slim, but NU’s Athletic Department is trying to cram a ton of events into that night in hopes the crowd won’t be as small as it might otherwise end up being. In addition to honoring NU’s seniors, the Wildcat women’s lacrosse team will receive their National Championship rings. Also, any elementary school student with a 3.0 or higher can get two free tickets, and it will Heroes’ Night so any armed services member or public safety official and their families can attend free as well. Hopefully, that’ll add to the crowd. I’d also like to see a few more students. The student sections did grow as tonight went on, but it was nothing like the loaded student sections for the Purdue and Illinois games.

NU tied the school record mark of 18 total wins in a season with this victory. Given NU's problems with Penn State, it would be nice if NU could break the record Sunday. I think such a victory could serve as another symbol of NU's effort to move the program forward.

Game 28: Iowa Hawkeyes @ Northwestern Wildcats

The Matchup: Iowa (9-18) @ Northwestern (17-10)

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, IL)

TV: ESPN (6:00 PM CT Thursday February 25th, 2010)
Radio: WGN AM 720

Fun Fact: Bill Carmody has 7 career wins over Iowa, his best mark against a Big Ten team.

About the Game
Iowa hasn’t played since an overtime loss to Michigan more than a week age. That extra time off might be good for Iowa as they aren’t the deepest team. At the same time, sometimes it’s frustrating to go on such a long layoff as it can force you out of rhythm. Of course, Iowa hasn’t exactly been in rhythm much this season. In fact, their victory over Northwestern February 10th was by far their best performance. Iowa scored 78 points in that game. That’s their best mark in a Big Ten game (in regulation) and their 3rd best overall.

In scoring those points, Iowa used a number of players. Forward Matt Gatens was effective from three point range as he has been all season (35.8% 3PT) and forward Aaron Fuller found his way to the basket inside as well. Northwestern picked up the defense in the second half of their loss to Wisconsin and stopped allowing easy penetration or interior passes, but if the Hawkeyes are smart they’ll test the ‘Cats defense with Fuller and center Jarryd Cole down low. Fuller converts 45.8% of his shots, but does take some outside shots. Shooting almost entirely from the block, Cole converts an eye-popping 58.4% of his tries. If NU lets him get the ball in scoring position it’ll be a long day for NU.

Then again, the day can’t get much longer for Northwestern than last time out against the Hawkeyes. Aside from going under screens against Gatens, the ‘Cats ignored Devan Bawinkel sitting behind the three point line and the senior from Winnebago, Illinois made them pay. How bad was the ‘Cats effort against Bawinkle? All 79 of his shots this year have come from three point range, but NU seemed to be insistent on not closing out in case he might drive. Also, Bawinkle made 5 of his 31 good threes just in the game versus NU. Basically aside from the game against NU Bawinkle made 1 three a game all year. If I were Northwestern I’d be embarrassed to let him make any in this rematch.

Prediction:
Speaking of embarrassed, Northwestern’s defensive effort has been pretty embarrassing since the tipoff of that loss to Iowa. NU basically only played good defense for 9:33 seconds against Minnesota (yet somehow got a win) and 10:22 against Wisconsin (resulting in a narrow loss). Why NU can’t play defense for 40 minutes I don’t know, but I hope that the emotions of senior night help get Jeremy Nash fired up as he seems to be NU’s defensive igniter. I’m not feeling the optimism I felt when picking what some thought an insane upset victory in Madison, but I’m not sure Iowa’s 1-7 road record gives them much hope in Evanston. I’ll pick the ‘Cats this time, but if they don’t win, I’m not predicting a win Sunday even if all of Penn State’s starters are declared academically ineligible and the bench players all get concussions in rebounding drills. Northwestern, 56 Iowa, 44

‘Cats NCAA Dreams Very Likely Dead Thanks to Humiliating 78-65 Loss in Iowa City

This may seem like revisionist history, but I was tempted to predict an Iowa win in this contest. But instead of doing so, I told myself, “No, this Northwestern team is different than the teams of the past. They won’t let down, they won’t fail in the big game, they won’t be the group saying, ‘if only this or that had gone the other way’ at the end of the year.” Well, I was wrong. This was the same exact game NU fans have see hundreds of times when they start to have expectations. It was virtually every game of consequence from the 2003-04 season to the 2005-06 season. I could probably spare you all a post and just have you think back to those times, but I've got stuff to say, so I'll post my thoughts.

This was also the type of uninspired effort which NU showed in virtually every game two years ago, when they went 1-17 in the Big Ten. Like that year, tonight Northwestern was pathetic in every area from offense, to defense, to coaching, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the postgame meal is stale.

NU looked totally lost to start the game. They didn’t seem to have a clue as to what offensive set to run, they struggled to get any sort of an open look, and multiple times settled for Jeremy Nash threes. Nash’s offense has obviously improved, but no way was the game plan to have him be the primary offensive weapon to start the game. As bad as that was, though, NU’s defense was even worse. They let Iowa get inside early in the game and therefore decided they need to switch to the 1-3-1. Unfortunately, in the 1-3-1, NU didn’t guard Devan Bawinkle from behind the arc despite the fact Bawinkle has never attempted a two in his career.

NU also didn’t seem able to get a team on the court who could play together without turnovers and forced threes. When NU got down they stopped running offense and started shooting threes like they hoped that if they hit a shot from deep enough it would be a like a “hot spot” in the old NBA Jam video game where you could get 7 or 8 points back with one bomb.

Luka Mirkovic struggled and was pulled. Kyle Rowley struggled and was pulled. Mirkovic came back, but was playing the worst game of his career, so Davide Curletti and Ivan Peljusic played for the first time in eons. Alex Marcotullio saw more time as did Mike Capocci, yet none of them seemed able to play defense or make shots. I don’t mean to pick on those guys. No Wildcat played well. They looked lazy. Almost as if they were either full of themselves because they won two games or looking ahead to Minnesota.

I can’t really quantify just how bad NU played. You can look at the stats and say things like, “NU made only 8-of-26 threes, while Iowa made 12-of-24 or Iowa got 36 rebounds while NU got only 28.” The thing is those stats aren’t enough to explain this game. The best I can do is say if you saw NU’s teams in 95-96, 99-00, or 07-08, that was what this game looked like. NU looked like a team that wasn’t athletic enough or skilled enough to play defense, grab a rebound, or make a shot. The problem is that this isn’t a team that is undermanned like those squads. This is probably Northwestern’s most balanced team ever.

Perhaps the best summary of this game might be to look to a quote from the character of lawyer Jackie Chiles played by actor Phil Morris on the television show Seinfeld. When faced with one of the many times Cosmo Kramer has ruined Jackie’s shot at a huge payday, the frustrated attorney declares, “this is the most public yet of my many humiliations." Northwestern basketball hasn’t exactly impressed in its history. Humiliating losses were the norm at times in the past, but with the nation watching closely, and in many cases rooting, for NU to make the Big Dance, this game is indeed the most public of NU’s many humiliating losses.

Game 24: Northwestern Wildcats @ Iowa

The Matchup: Northwestern (16-7) @ Iowa (8-16)

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, IA)

TV: Big Ten Network (7:30 PM Wednesday February 10th, 2010)
Radio: WGN 720AM

Fun Fact: Todd Lickliter is 2-0 at home against Northwestern is has career as Iowa’s head coach.

About the Game
On the face of it 8-16 Iowa doesn’t appear to be much of a challenge for Northwestern, but the truth is, like their namesake, the Hawkeyes are remarkably tough. After all their off-season and early season problems, it would have been easy for Iowa to mail in the season. To assume their coach was going to get dismissed and that more star players would transfer. Instead, the Hawkeyes have persevered. While that perseverance hasn’t resulted in many wins, it has resulted in a number of teams not wanting to take on the Hawks after hard-fought battles. This will be a tough game for Northwestern.

Like Wildcat teams of the past, because of their limited talent, Iowa plays at a slow pace. In fact, Iowa only averages 61.1 ppg as a team, and probably wants to score less. I’d bet in Todd Lickliter’s ideal world his team would win 52-47 games each night. This might be the one game where Northwestern wants to try to play fast and speed up an opponent. It is also a game where NU’s ability to take care of the ball will be put to the test. Iowa plays tough on defense (freshman Eric May gets more than a steal a game), but even more important is that fact that since the game against the Hawkeyes will be played at a slow pace, every empty possession is even more serious.

When the Hawkeyes do score the responsible party is more often than not sophomore Matt Gatens. The 6-5 Gatens is the only Hawkeye currently on active who averages double figures. Gatens scores 12.0ppg in addition to averaging 4.3 rpg and 3.5 apg. Gatens is also a decent three point shooter making 34.4% of his threes. He has a very smooth stroke on his shot, but some might say his release is not as quick as experts might want. 6-5 forward Eric May is the Hawkeyes next best scorer at 9.4ppg. May has improved during the year as a shooter. He currently is only shooting 29.8% from three point range, but his average has gone up in Big Ten play. Another Hawkeye who has improved in Big Ten season is Aaron Fuller. Fuller is the Hawkeyes top rebounder at 5.6rpg and in Big Ten play is the Hawkeye’s leading scorer at 11.1ppg. Fuller gets most of his points inside (averaging about 1 three point attempt a game) and his improvement at scoring inside has given point guard Cully Payne a reliable player to dump the ball of to when he penetrates the defense. Payne is a freshman from Schaumburg who committed to both DePaul and Alabama before landing in Iowa City. Lickliter was lucky to get him as with the number of defections the Hawks had in the offseason, and Anthony Tucker’s suspension during this season, only Payne and John Lickliter (the coach’s son) are legitimate choices at point.

Iowa’s issues at the guard spot and spotty three point shooting (32.4% as a team) might make one think this is the game for NU to go back to the 1-3-1. I, however, am not so sure. The Hawkeyes have shown the ability to get hot from the outside and in a low-possession game it is a bad idea to give a lot of open looks. In addition, like Indiana, NU has some very positive matchups against Iowa. For example, other than Michael “Juice” Thompson, every NU starter is bigger than or about as big as their Iowa counterpart (Matt Gatens may have an inch or two on Jeremy Nash on paper, but Nash plays much bigger than 6-3). In addition, Iowa’s biggest big man, Brennan Cougill (Iowa’s Mr. Basketball last year) is 6-9 255. That makes him smaller than both Luka Mirkovic and Kyle Rowley height wise. He has some weight on Luka, but Mirkovic has shown how he can use athletic skill against bulkier opponents. What is important in defending Cougill is to remember he is one of Iowa’s better outside shooters. NU must defend him on the perimeter. This might be tough for Rowley, but I think Mirkovic and Davide Curletti or Ivan Peljusic would excel at this. On offense, I expect to see NU attack the smaller Iowa inside players. This could be a big game for Mirkovic and Shurna inside. Iowa’s limited size and depth might even allow Mike Capocci to get into the game and post up as he did against Indiana with positive results.

Prediction: This might the scariest game left on NU’s schedule. Obviously at Wisconsin is tough, but that game doesn’t really feature expectations. Everybody is going to expect Northwestern to win this game to setup a showdown with Minnesota on Sunday. As long as the Wildcats don’t read the press clippings, I think they’ll be fine. They are without a doubt the better team. Iowa’s once impressive home court advantage is gone. NU’s young players should not feel intimidated. As long as makes the right defensive calls (which I believe is limiting use of the 1-3-1 unless Iowa is having major ball handling issues), the Wildcats should triumph in Iowa City for the first time since 2004. Northwestern, 61 Iowa, 51

Who is NU’s Biggest Basketball Rival?

Is Iowa NU's Biggest Rival in Basketball?

So it’s Rivalry Week on the ESPN family of networks this week. Games featured include Duke and North Carolina, Syracuse and UConn, and Purdue and Michigan State. This got me thinking about the basketball rivalries which include Northwestern. Who is Northwestern’s biggest basketball rival? The quickest answer is Illinois. That’s possible. Another quick answer is that NU hasn’t had enough success in basketball to sustain rivalries like they have in football against teams like Iowa and Wisconsin. I refuse to believe this. Northwestern might not have a great deal of basketball success, but they’ve been a pain in the neck for enough teams that at least a couple regular opponents have to be considered rivals. I’ve looked at a few factors such as how competitive games have been, how often the teams have met, and what type of relationship fans seems to have. As a result, I’ve come up with four potential candidates for NU’s biggest rival. They might not be Duke-UNC, but NU does have rivals.

Rival #1: Illinois
Illinois makes this list in large part because they are the only other Big Ten team in state. Also, because of this fact many families and friends in Illinois have connections to both Northwestern and Illinois. This creates some friendly (perhaps even sibling) rivalries which can make attending these matchups fun. On the other hand, I find that the rivalry with Illinois tends to be somewhat relaxed because of these connections. Their simply isn’t the bitterness that exists between other rivals. The other fact is, disappointing as it is for NU fans to admit, NU has struggled against Illinois even when the Wildcats have had respectable teams. The win over Illinois on January 23rd gave NU just their 3rd win over the Fighting Illini in the last 11 years. Northwestern has some poor records against conference foes over that time, but only Ohio State and Michigan State have been more successful than U of I against NU since the 1998-99 season.

Rival #2: DePaul
I’d really argue strongly for DePaul as NU’s biggest rival if the Blue Demons hadn’t dropped NU off the schedule this year. Sure, the teams are going to meet again next season, but I don’t think Indiana and Kentucky are likely to take time off from their rivalry anytime soon. If NU and DePaul want to be serious about their rivalry they need to play. It was a big deal to me when NU and DePaul seemed to recommit to playing regularly in the early 2000s and for the sake of college basketball in Chicago they should stick to that commitment. What I like about the argument for this rivalry is that it has been relatively close recently. The teams have split their last 6 meetings. Also, the two teams have a legitimate postseason history, having met in the NIT three times. DePaul has won two of three, but each has been close. In addition, at least from my personal experience, NU and DePaul can become a rivalry in the stands as well. I remember being somewhat horrified as a youngster when my mother got into a war of words with two drunken DePaul fans who were taunting Evan Eschmeyer during the 1999 NIT game at the Rosemont Horizon.

Rival #3: Wisconsin
This would be more of a rivalry if NU could win in Madison, but then again nobody wins in Madison, so maybe it doesn’t matter. The fact is NU has given Wisconsin a ton of trouble in Evanston over the past decade. Even NU’s losses have more often resembled this year’s tight battle to the wire as opposed the 2008 game which served as Wisconsin’s coronation as Big Ten Champs. This rivalry also gets extra points for NU winning over Wisconsin fairly consistently in the mid-1990s. Wisconsin was NU’s victim twice during the run to the 1993-94 NIT, including a memorable game in Evanston when NU guard Kip Kirkpatrick looked down future NBA-star Michael Finley. Also, during his brief stay in Evanston, Geno Carlisle led NU to a couple victories over the Badgers.

Rival #4: Iowa
If I had to vote (and I actually did in the poll above) I’d vote for Iowa. Some of that might be pent up anger over their way their fans often dis NU in football, but I think during the Steve Alford era this became a pretty decent basketball rivalry. Not only did NU finally breakthrough with a win in Iowa City in 2004, but the ‘Cats and Hawkeyes played a number of down to the wire games which resulted in NU wins. Michael Jenkins became an NU legend for beating Iowa, but people forget his heroics were sandwiched around a buzzer beater from Vedran Vukusic and an improbable off the bench shot from Evan Seacat which helped NU to victory when he hadn’t played in weeks. After each of those games, the Iowa fan base seemed to go crazy with frustration at their loss. In the last two years, the tables have somewhat turned. We NU fans have been the one’s feeling the frustration with a 1-3 record against the Hawkeyes. Last year’s loss in Iowa City was among the most frustrating for NU fans in a season of tough losses. The year before, when NU was desperately seeking a Big Ten win, was even worse as NU blew a double-figure lead thanks to Iowa starting pick apart the 1-3-1 zone. If NU doesn’t pull off the victory Wednesday night, the frustration level will probably hit a new high for NU fans.

Those are my thoughts. What does everybody else think? Comment and vote in the poll.

Iowa’s Loss to Illinois No Help to NU: Avoiding Bad Losses Could be Key in Battle for Big Ten’s Last Tourney Spot

Iowa hosts NU next week. They just missed helping NU when they lost a close battle to Illinois.

Right now there are four teams in the Big Ten that are sure bets to make the NCAA Tournament: Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Ohio State. There are also four teams that are surely out of the NCAA Tournament: Iowa, Indiana, Penn State, and Michigan. In between stand Northwestern, Illinois, and Minnesota. Right now none of those three teams are clearly better than the other. In fact, the teams are really very evenly matched. NU split its two meeting with Illinois and has a very good chance to split with Minnesota as well. As a result, what might be most critical to these teams in distinguishing themselves from each other will be avoiding bad losses, say losses to teams with sub-100 RPIs. NU hasn’t done this yet. Iowa almost handed Illinois their 3rd such loss, but the Fighting Illini escaped. If NU can continue to be immune to bad losses they might get picked ahead of Illinois and Minnesota even if the Illini and Gophers don’t pick up any more bad losses, but it’ll be a tough task for NU when they face Indiana and Iowa this week. Iowa didn’t beat Illinois, but came very close. Indiana didn’t beat Purdue, but looked for a long time like they would. No game in the Big Ten is easy.

On a related note, recaps and breakdowns of the Illinois-Iowa game are on various websites devoted to those teams, so I won’t break it down in detail. I do want to make a few observations. First off, I wonder if Iowa regrets running Steve Alford out of town. He certainly had his problems, but despite having fans dissatisfied, he did make regular runs in the Big Ten Tournament which lead to NCAA appearances. Todd Lickliter looks like he’ll still be looking for his first NCAA-bid in Iowa City after this year. Not that you can totally blame Lickliter (though I’m sure most Iowa fans do). He’s been somewhat snake bitten due to transfers and suspensions. Losing Jake Kelley to transfer hurt Iowa’s offense and then losing Anthony Tucker (who could have stepped in for Kelley) to a suspension hurt even more. Now, Iowa is a team with virtually no inside game and only Cully Payne and Matt Gatens can do much with creating their own shot.

Iowa also looks like they have issues with visiting fans just like Northwestern. It might not be to NU’s level in terms of numbers, but yesterday a group of Illinois students were seated right behind the basket. Without a doubt, I would have considered those prime seats, but nobody in black and gold must have wanted them. Even more amazing, the basket they were behind was the goal Iowa was shooting at in the second half. In other words, every time a Hawkeye player went to the line late to try a free throw, he saw a horde of orange-clad visitors staring him in the face. Even when NU was beating the Alford teams regularly, they still struggled in Iowa City. Part of the reason is was the Hawkeye fans made wining in Carver-Hawkeye Arena really tough. Now, I’m not guaranteeing a win in Iowa City (and NU’s team should just focus on Indiana), but it does seem Carver-Hawkeye will be significantly less intimidating this season. Hopefully, that’ll make it easier for NU to win in a place they’ve struggled and avoid their first bad loss.

Moore's Senior Day at NU

Here are some pictures from Craig Moore's final regular season home game at Welsh-Ryan...

Craig Moore finishes strong, Wildcats top Hawkeyes 55-49

Senior day for Wildcat star Craig Moore was filled with emotions. From the moment he walked on to the court at Welsh-Ryan Arena the last time with tears in his eyes it was clear Moore felt the weight of his four year investment in the Wildcat program and wanted to end his career on a positive note. Though Moore struggled initially on senior day, in the end he provided the Wildcats with a key five points when he hit a clutch three and drilled two free throws to clinch the win for the Wildcats. Moore’s fiery spirit has always been part of his success and it was great to see that in the end his emotions didn’t get the best of them on a day where he wasn’t at his best. In the past, a slow start would have doomed Moore and the Wildcats. Today that was not the case. It has been fantastic to see the progress Moore had made both physically and mentally during his career.

Other than Moore’s 11 points the Wildcats were led by Kevin Coble with 16 points and 9 rebounds and Michael “Juice” Thompson who scored 14. Thompson his three straight three in the second half after Iowa took a seven point lead. After Thompson’s last three, the Wildcats went from down seven to up one. As great as Juice’s shooting was, I think the special mention has to go to Coble’s rebounding and defense. At times I’ve been on Kevin Coble for his lack of defense, but today he got three blocks and made it very tough for Cyrus Tate to operate down low. Also, the nine rebounds were a season-high and for a time he looked like the only Wildcat who was in position for rebounds. In comparison, the Wildcat center position got a total of 1 rebound for Kyle Rowley.

Some credit does have to go Rowley who again looked quick with his moves and scored 4 points on 2-of-3 shooting in 13 minutes. Luka Mirkovic scored 3 points from the center position with 2 assists. Thought those numbers are somewhat underwhelming, they did take care of the ball and occupy space.

Other statistical highlights for NU were 4 assists from Thompson and 3 from Coble. John Shurna scored 7 points and made a great move towards the hoop taking an Iowa player off the dribble. If Shurna adds such moves to his arsenal he will become a very dangerous player. The best moment of the day, though, was Craig Moore overcoming 2-of-11 shooting to push the Wildcats to victory. At the end of the game when Moore kissed the Wildcat at center court it was one of the more emotional moments I have seen for Northwestern basketball. Hopefully, NU will post enough wins between now and Sunday March, 15 to make the NCAA tournament, but if not, I will be proud to welcome Moore and his classmates back to Welsh-Ryan for an NIT game.

Game 27: Iowa @ Northwestern

The Matchup: Iowa (14-14) @ Northwestern (15-11)

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, IL)

TV: Big Ten Network (1:00 PM CT)
Radio: WGN 720 AM

Fun Fact: Bill Carmody is 5-2 at home against Iowa as Northwestern’s head coach. The two losses were by 5 points each and decided in the final minute.

About the Game
Postseason play is on the line when the Iowa Hawkeyes visit Welsh-Ryan on Saturday. With a win Northwestern will clinch an above. 500 record and likely assure themselves of a bid to some postseason tournament. With their 14-14 record Iowa probably needs 2 or 3 more wins to assure themselves a postseason bid, but after their 56-51 win in Iowa City the Hawks should feel confident against Northwestern.

In the game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa essentially beat Northwestern because they took great advantage of the two things they do extremely well—make three pointers and make free throws. Iowa also got a great lift from their inside players Jarryd Cole and Cyrus Tate who despite scoring only 4 points they helped lead the Hawkeyes to thirteen offensive rebounds which helped the Hawkeye shooters get a ton of extra shots. When you have guys like Matt Gatens, Jake Kelly, and Devan Bawinkle on the court it is a bad idea to give them three-shot possessions. Statistically Iowa is not a great rebounding team, averaging only 28.8 rebounds per game. In order to avoid the season sweep, Northwestern must hold them near that number.

Another key for Northwestern is to limit the total number of three pointers made by Iowa. This might be a game NU wants to skip the 1-3-1 like they did against Illinois. Using the 2-3 or switching man-to-man will allow NU to put more pressure on individual Hawkeyes and keep Devan Bawinkle from building his usual fort in the corner to wait for wide open threes. NU might also get some rebounding help if they play the 2-3. Luka Mirkovic commented he felt it was easier to find a guy to block out in the Illinois game when NU played the 2-3. Of course, the 1-3-1 did produce 17 Iowa turnovers in Iowa City. If NU had taken more advantage of those turnovers allowing so many Iowa treys wouldn’t have been a problem. Another key might be if Iowa guard Jeff Peterson returns from injury. Peterson made several big shots against NU in Iowa City. However, Peterson and his replacement Jake Kelly have had turnover problems at times this year. If Iowa only has one ball handler, like they will if Peterson can’t play, perhaps NU should play whatever defense will be best to apply pressure on the Hawkeye point guard. That might even be a full court press of some variety.

Prediction:
The Wildcats had the lead late against Iowa in Iowa City, but Devan Bawinkle hit a clutch three from his home in the corner to give the Hawks the lead and the win. If Northwestern reduces the number of threes they allow, commits less fouls, and keeps the rebounding battle close to even, they should win. That might seem like a tough task, but the last two times Northwestern has been near full strength (Ohio State and Indiana) they have done exactly those things. In addition, the emotion of senior day and the fact this is Northwestern’s most winnable game left should have NU ready to play. However, this game will be close as both teams play low possession games which make it difficult for a team to extend a lead. Northwestern, 61 Iowa, 56

On the 1-3-1 Defense...

I’ve heard a lot of people pointing to the fact Northwestern never switched from the 1-3-1 zone as a reason for the loss to Iowa on Saturday evening. Now, I’m a big proponent of switching defenses, however, I believe a close analysis shows that the 1-3-1 zone was in fact not responsible for the loss to Iowa. In fact, I believe 1-3-1 performed rather well all things considered. First off, we need to consider what occurs when playing a 1-3-1. The two major positives the 1-3-1 offers are it creates a bunch of turnovers and makes it difficult for a team to get the ball inside. The negatives are if the ball gets inside the other team’s center can regularly score with ease against a small guard and the corners are left open for easy three point shots. Against Iowa, Northwestern’s 1-3-1 produced 17 turnovers from the Hawkeyes and Iowa only made 2 inside shots, totaling four points from the center position. From this perspective it seems the 1-3-1 did its job more than adequately. Now, some will point to fact Iowa hit 12-of-30 threes which works out to 40%, but that’s only 36 points, not too bad when you aren’t allowing many two point field goals either. One of the major problems was the fact the Wildcats committed 21 fouls which allowed Iowa to make 16 free throws. Now, some could say the 1-3-1 was responsible for these fouls, but the fact is Northwestern hasn’t had major foul problems all year when playing the 1-3-1. Perhaps the refs called this game particularly close, especially on the perimeter, or perhaps NU’s players were a step slow thanks to midterms. At a school like Northwestern, you can’t discount what midterms can take out of student athletes. During football season the Wildcats worst loss was against Michigan State which also was near midterm season. Whatever the reason, the fouls did factor into Iowa’s victory. More than anything, though, I think the loss to Iowa was due to offense not defense. If you allow only 56 points, whatever methods those are scored by, you should win. Unfortunately, the Wildcats only scored 51 points. When you think about it, if Craig Moore had hit 8-of-18 shots instead of 6-of-18 or Michael Thompson and Kevin Coble had hit one three pointer each, which has been pretty common this year, NU would have won. A series of missed layups by Kyle Rowley and Jeremy Nash also hurt NU. Jeff Ryan also missed his only shot attempt which was a point black put back chance after a great offensive rebound. If those five layups had been made it also would have greatly increased NU’s chance of victory. Bottom line, any defense which allows only 56 points and 35% shooting can’t be that bad. In fact, it ought to produce a win. For Northwestern, though, it didn’t happen on Saturday. However, if the 1-3-1 can consistently produce turnover and opponent shooting percentage totals similar to what it did in Iowa City the odds are it will lead NU to many wins down the stretch of this season.