Two regular-season losses by a combined 29 points. A two-inchheight

disadvantage at each position. Three straight first-round exitsfrom the Big

Ten tournament.

The numbers were stacked against Northwestern inThursday’s Big Ten tournament

game against Minnesota. And when the Golden Gophers jumped outto a 15-6 lead

after five minutes, it would have been easy for NU to rollover.

But the Cats (12-16, 4-13 Big Ten) did the exact opposite,outscoring Minnesota

70-59 over the rest of the game for a 76-64 victory ­their first win in the

tournament since a March 4, 1999 win over Penn State. JitimYoung led NU with

20 points, seven rebounds and five assists. T.J. Parker added 18points. Both

players shot 3 for 4 from 3-point range ­ part of theCats’ 46-percent effort

from beyond the arc.

NU, the No. 10 seed, effectively won the game in the first fiveminutes of the

second half ­ a period when the Cats have struggledthis season. Leading 30-28

after the break, NU guard Mohamed Hachad jumper clanked off therim but was

tipped in off the rebound by Gophers forward Rick Rickert. TwoAaron Jennings

turnaround jumpers and a Mohamed Hachad fast-break layup later,and the Cats

were up 38-28. Minnesota (16-12, 8-9) never got closer than sixpoints the rest

of the way, and the loss likely ended their NCAA-tourneychances.

The second-half surge was surprising for NU, who finished theregular season by

losing first-half leads against Ohio State and Iowa in theopening minutes

after the break.

“We made a special note of that athalftime,� coach Bill Carmody said.“We

played with a little more emotion and got the lead upquickly.�

NU forward Jason Burke, who finished with six points and fiveboards, said NU

used Wednesday’s practice to concentrate onthe coming out strong after

halftime.

“We played an eight-minute scrimmageyesterday, and everybody on the court said

these are the first eight minutes of the secondhalf,� Burke said. “We made

sure we were focused on that part of the game, becausewe’ve had leads before

and the first couple minutes of the half have really gotten tous.�

The Cats didn’t falter after the initial run.Rickert, who finished with 16

points but was quiet for most of the game, scored 10 consecutivepoints for the

Gophers over five minutes. NU shut downMinnesota’s other scoring options­

including forward Michael Bauer, who had 11 points in the firsthalf but didn’t

score again until garbage time.

The most noticeable difference betweenThursday’s win and the Cats’previous

two losses to the Gophers may have been the effects ofMinnesota’s size

advantage. With three players 6-foot-10 or taller, the Gophersout-rebounded NU

by 18 in both regular-season wins, but held only a three-boardedge Thursday.

Burke said the Cats played more help defense on the weak side toclose the

Gophers’ rebounding lanes. Burke and WinstonBlake each pulled down seven

boards.

NU advances to the second round to face No. 2 seed Illinois(21-6, 11-5) at

5:40 p.m. Friday. The game marks the teams’second meeting at the United Center

in 20 days; the Fighting Illini shot 55 percent in a 73-61 winFeb. 22.

Overcoming another significant size mismatch against the Illiniwill be a tall

task, but the Cats haven’t given up hope ofsticking around for the weekend’s

final two rounds.

“I brought clothes to stay throughSunday, � Young said. “Even if youdon’t

really believe something, it’s the attitudeyou need to have. If you say

something over and over again, you can say to yourself,‘Yeah, I can dothis.’�