The harsh reality of Illinois’ dominance over Northwestern last February glowed brightly on the Welsh-Ryan Arena scoreboard.
It was the number six – as in the six points the Wildcats scored in the entire first half of the 63-30 loss to the Fighting Illini. There were other demoralizing stats, like 25 turnovers and a 26 percent field goal percentage, but NU’s measly total represents a low point that no player or coach wants to reach again.
The Cats (7-8, 0-4 Big Ten) have improved this season under new head coach Bill Carmody, who said he hasn’t seen the Illinois game and never wishes to watch it. This season NU has been competitive in parts of three of its four Big Ten games and led Penn State by 14 points before falling 73-66 Saturday night in State College, Pa.
But the Cats’ progress will be truly tested Wednesday night, when they face the perpetrators (No. 7 Illinois) at the scene of the crime (Welsh-Ryan Arena).
“As far as any intimidation, every year is different, even when you’re playing against the same team and the same guys,” Carmody said. “You don’t know until you go onto the court that night, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Much like Michigan State did to NU last Wednesday, Illinois (13-4, 3-1) took out the frustrations of a tough loss to Iowa by crushing Michigan 80-51 Saturday. The Illini, who played without star guard Frank Williams (15.3 points per game), snatched the lead from the onset and rode forward Sergio McClain’s triple-double to an easy victory.
Although Williams will return Wednesday, Illinois will play without forward Marcus Griffin, who suffered a bruised tailbone against Michigan.
NU, which scored a total of 24 first-half points in two meetings with Illinois last season, will look to continue its trend of strong starts in the past two games. The Cats matched Michigan State in the first 10 minutes before faltering and led Penn State 38-30 heading into halftime.
But NU lost both games, extending its Big Ten losing streak to 22.
“We’ve just got to get over that hump,” guard Collier Drayton said. “We’ve played good basketball for about 32 minutes and we’ve got to eliminate that eight-minute stretch where we have mistakes and turn the ball over.”
SHOTS FALLING: Despite their second-half collapse, the Cats somewhat regained their shooting touch against Penn State. NU shot nearly 51 percent from the floor, and its leading scorer, forward Winston Blake, misfired only once en route to his 17-point total.
The Cats, who still rank last in the conference in field goal percentage (42 percent), had only two players – forward Jason Burke and guard Ed McCants – miss more than half of their shots.
“We’ve been shooting a lot in practice. We’ve been shooting a lot better in games,” center Aaron Jennings said. “If we continue to do that, one of these games we’re going to shoot an unbelievably high percentage and just surprise the hell out of a team.”
Although they bested the Nittany Lions in three-point shooting (41 percent to 32 percent) and outrebounded them 34-22, Cats’ players found few positives in the loss.
“We’ve gotten to the point where we’re not content with just being in the game,” Drayton said. “We want to win and being the game doesn’t get us victories.
D-FLATED: With its offense struggling through dry spells in nearly every game this season, NU has relied on staunch defense to keep the score close. Yet the Cats’ wall has caved during the past two games, as second-half defensive lapses have sealed their doom.
NU conceded 43 second-half points to both Michigan State and Penn State, squashing any comeback hopes in crunch time. While their offense sputtered Saturday, the Cats could not defend beyond the arc as Penn State’s Joe Crispin cashed in for five three-pointers and 28 points.
“I think we were tired,” Carmody said. “And when you get tired you lose your focus a little bit, so Crispin gets a couple of looks that maybe he would not have gotten earlier. That’s a major factor, stamina, and it will probably come into play against Illinois because they are deep.”
