Bill Carmody has discovered that his Wildcats can beat the smaller, less physical teams on the nonconference schedule. But can they take on the burlier squads in the Big Ten?
After this weekend, the coach should have a pretty good idea.
Purdue visits Welsh-Ryan Arena Saturday for a 1 p.m. matchup with the Northwestern men’s basketball team. It is NU’s conference home opener and first home game since the Cats beat No. 16 Southern California on Dec. 27.
After graduating four of its five starters, the Boilermakers (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten) bear little resemblance to the team that went to the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA tournament. But that doesn’t mean Purdue head coach Gene Keady has changed the tough style of play he has preached throughout his 21 seasons.
“Purdue’s always a team that plays good defense — physical, strong. They don’t really have a marquee player or a go-to guy, but they’re all great role players,” NU guard Ben Johnson said. “They all know their role and they play extremely hard. Gene Keady has always instilled that toughness.
“We’re going to have a battle on our hands. They’re going to play great defense and they’re going to try and make all the hustle plays.”
The Cats (7-6, 0-1) learned from their 17-point loss Wednesday at Ohio State that they will need to be on top of their game to earn conference wins. And on Saturday that means keeping the ball from Purdue’s big men, who will attack the paint for points.
“I just don’t think we can allow it to go inside where you can either score or pass. It has to stay on the outside, and we have to make them dribble it a little more,” Carmody said. “We’re going to have to give up some threes there, and I’m hopeful that since their emphasis is on the inside it will pay off for us.”
If nothing else, the Ohio State loss could act as a wake-up call and push NU to play better basketball. The Cats’ upcoming games will be some of the toughest of the year, with Michigan State and Penn State following Purdue on the schedule.
And with junior point guard Collier Drayton day-to-day after injuring his left ankle against Ohio State, the Cats know they’ll have to put up a better effort.
“It’s not all the preseason, stuff like that,” Johnson said. “I don’t think we’re where we need to be right now. The first Big Ten game is always interesting because you have new guys come in, and it’s the first time you play against a team that’s pretty good. You have to try and see if your stuff will work.”
Winston Blake led the way against Ohio State with a career-high 22 points and has been NU’s best three-point shooter. Despite his performance, Blake admitted that the showing was far from the Cats’ best.
“We didn’t play our top game (Wednesday). It’s kind of disappointing,” he said. “We would probably have had a chance to win that game if we played like we did against USC, which is the way we’re supposed to play.
“We understand a little bit more of what’s going on and what to expect in the Big Ten.”
HARDY-WARE: NU’s defeat of USC was its first win against a ranked team since a 54-50 triumph over Purdue on Jan. 27, 1999. Players said the 63-61 win was the best game NU has played all season, and one of the more exciting in recent memory.
“We played a heck of a game, almost flawless,” Blake said. “There’s no perfect game, but we played pretty hard and competed, and that’s what we’re supposed to do.”
The surprising result also attracted some much-needed positive publicity for the Cats.
Four days after the upset, Tavaras Hardy was named co-Big Ten Player of the Week for his role in the win. Hardy scored 20 points against the Trojans, hitting 10 of 15 shots from the field, and grabbed four rebounds.
“It was an honor, especially with the conference we play in,” he said of the award.
The junior forward was moved to center earlier this season by Carmody, forcing Hardy to face players much taller than his 6-foot-7 frame. The USC game capped a four-game streak in which Hardy scored 15.5 points per game.
Hardy also was named to the San Juan Shootout’s all-tournament team. NU played three games in Puerto Rico, losing to Kent State and defeating Iona and Evansville for a fifth-place finish.
“(Hardy’s) been here for three years and he’s been through a lot,” Johnson said. “This is his year, and he deserves a lot of the attention and accolades he’s getting. Hopefully he can continue to play this way and carry us a little through this Big Ten season.”
COUNTING DOWN: Carmody is currently sitting on 99 wins for his career, but neither his team nor the coach himself was aware that NU’s next victory would be No. 100.
Carmody went 92-25 in his four years at Princeton, and is 7-6 thus far at NU. For the coach, the milestone is nothing more than a punchline.
“I hope I get that by next year,” Carmody said.
