With one game remaining before the Big Ten Tournament, the Wildcats have asked themselves one very important question.
“A lot of teams are thinking about Spring Break,” Northwestern junior Jitim Young said, “and other teams are thinking about the postseason. Are we going to be one of those teams thinking it’s over, or one of those teams that says it has a lot more basketball to play?”
NU (11-15, 3-12 Big Ten) finishes the regular season Saturday with Iowa, who started the Cats off on the wrong foot in their Big Ten opener.
But the Cats are hopeful their rematch with the Hawkeyes (14-12, 6-9) in Iowa City, Iowa, can serve as a springboard for some elusive postseason success. Heading into the March 13-16 tourney at the United Center, NU is 1-5 in the five-year history of the Big Ten Tournament.
“A win going into the tournament gives you a fire,” Young said. “It’s very important because it gives you confidence and gets your hopes up.”
NU suffered an extended period of ice-cold shooting in its 52-48 loss to Ohio State on Wednesday. Coach Bill Carmody said his squads’ 29-percent performance from the field was kicking the thermostat in the wrong direction.
“They say you have to get hot at the right time,” Carmody said.
With the conference tournament starting in less than a week, NU has just this last trip and a handful of practices left to get its house in order.
The Cats will have to concentrate on two specific areas if they want to keep up with the Hawkeyes, Carmody said: Scoring against a 2-3 zone defense and rebounding.
NU found early success against Ohio State’s 2-3 zone, going up 20-9. But once the Buckeyes began rotating their defensive schemes, the Cats’ offense fell apart. Iowa’s primary scheme is a 2-3 zone, and Carmody said his squad will go with new methods of attack.
“We’ve proven we’re not much of a 3-point shooting team,” Carmody said. “We need better shots for our team.
“To get any other shot besides a 3 against a flat zone is pretty hard, but we’re going to try.”
Rebounds will be at a higher premium than usual for NU, as it faces an Iowa squad that ranks second in the conference in rebounding differential.
“We’ll just have to locate their rebounders and make sure to get a body on them,” senior Winston Blake said. “We’re going to have to work hard to pull it out.”
The Cats’ dropped their first game with the Hawkeyes 68-63. Iowa big men Glen Worley and Jared Reiner grabbed a combined 24 boards in the contest, including 13 on offense.
Momentum aside, NU will be the No. 10 seed in the conference tournament, win or lose. NU will face the No. 7 seed — either Minnesota or Ohio State depending on the outcome of Saturday’s games.
The first-round matchup will be the second game of the Thursday session of the tournament, and will begin following the end of the 11 a.m. No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed contest
Young said the biggest key to a run in the postseason would be focus.
“We have to block out all the negative things going around,” Young said. “There’s a lot of negativity associated with our team. The seniors deserve all the accolades they’re getting. They went through hell here, through a 5-25 year and a winning season.
“They work hard and they’re great examples for us everyday.”
NU (11-15, 3-12 Big Ten) at Iowa (14-12, 6-9)
1:30 p.m., Saturday
Carver-Hawkeye Arena,
Iowa City, Iowa
