Following a season-opening disaster against the “vaunted” Trojans of Arkansas-Little Rock, new coach Bill Carmody blasted his team, saying they needed “heart transplants” and lamenting, “If I had five other guys, I would have thrown them in there.” At that point, 0-28 seemed reasonable.

But the fire-and-brimstone speech seemed to give the Cats a much-needed jolt, as they jumped out to a 7-5 nonconference record, including a shocking win over the truly vaunted Trojans of Southern California (minus their top player, of course.)

Then came the Big Ten season: eight losses, two player defections, one academic suspension and a modern record for consecutive conference losses. Now, 0-for-Big Ten seems reasonable.

It’s enough to make Carmody — who left Princeton for NU — long for New Jersey.

Here’s a look at Carmody’s rough first season to this point. We combed for a few highs, but found mostly lows.

MIDSEASON MVP: Winston Blake

Junior center Tavaras Hardy deserves mention, simply because he has shouldered the responsibility of defending the paint despite standing only 6-foot-7. But while Hardy has been the warrior, Winston Blake has been the star. The sophomore swingman averages a team-leading 12.7 points per game and is the team’s lone outside weapon. He is second in the conference with three treys per game. When Blake scores, the Cats stay close. When he falls flat, so does the team.

Player to watch: Ben Johnson

As an 0-8 conference record illustrates, Blake alone hasn’t been enough to make the Cats competitive. NU desperately needs another outside threat, and that player could be guard Ben Johnson, last season’s leading scorer. He tallied 19 points against Michigan on Saturday and has to keep it up if the Cats are going to win a Big Ten game.

Biggest surprise: Blake

Blake has boosted his scoring average by 8.8 points from a year ago. To put that in perspective, only two other players even average 8.8 points per game.

Blake went from reserve to go-to guy, surprising NU coaches, fans and opponents by capably filling departed swingman Steve Lepore’s shoes.

Blake is sure to see more and more double teams as his jumpers continue to fall.

Worst moment: Jason Burke’s missed dunk

Blowing a 14-point lead in the second half to Penn State was pretty bad, but all that did was leave the Cats winless in conference play. Hey, no big deal. But Jason Burke’s bricked dunk with less than eight seconds left in a 16-point loss to Michigan State on Jan. 24 was much more catastrophic.

Why? The spread was 15.

Stat of the year: 490

Most people know the Cats are in the midst of a record-setting 30-game Big Ten losing streak dating back to Feb. 6, 1999. But all those ugly games have kind of blended together into one big lump of losing. So the pick for stat of the year is 490 — the total number of points the Cats lost by in those 30 games. That works out to an average of more than 16 points per loss. Yikes.

Fan favorite: Langston Hughes

How could you not pick third-string point guard Langston Hughes for this honor? Sure, the former walk-on has played only 11 minutes and scored just two points this year. Sure, he won’t be leading an Evanston renaissance anytime soon.

But every time he touches the floor, it’s poetry in motion — perfect for the erudite NU faithful.

What’s ahead

After Buffalo, it’s Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin. A Big Ten record of 0-13 is likely and would leave NU only three games to steal that elusive first win.

At least Carmody can snag career win No. 100 — one he’s been waiting to get since the Cats’ last win Dec. 27 — if NU tops Buffalo tonight.

Mark Lazerus contributed to this report.