Coach Bill Carmody isn’t entertaining the idea of the men’s basketball team qualifying for the postseason.

“It can’t even be in your mind because we aren’t playing well,” Carmody said. “It’s a long season.”

Carmody said the Wildcats’ play during Winter Break was lousy, and singled out problems with the team’s defense.

The Cats (5-6) have lost three consecutive games, and their schedule won’t get easier as they enter the Big Ten regular season.

“Sometimes you can say, ‘Well, now it’s a new season: the Big Ten (season),'” Carmody said. “But I’m not a real firm believer in that. We are playing with seven guys. … It wears on you a little bit.”

One bright spot for the Cats has been forward Vedran Vukusic, whose play earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors Dec. 22. The sophomore averaged 24.5 points and 59 percent shooting against Illinois-Chicago and Arizona State.

But as a team, NU has failed to dominate its opponents. The Cats’ last win came against the Sun Devils on Dec. 17 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Guard T.J. Parker netted the winning basket as time expired, and Vukusic led NU with 26 points.

The Cats’ most recent defeat came Dec. 28 against Mississippi Valley State in the consolation game at the Sierra Providence SunClassic in El Paso, Texas. With the score tied, Mississippi Valley sank the Cats 49-47 with a basket at the buzzer.

“We just didn’t have any pizzazz,” Carmody said. “We were very lethargic. That is one of the few times we weren’t energized.”

Carmody said teams are shooting too well against the Cats, who have struggled to keep the ball out of the low post.

Senior captain Jitim Young said the team just needs to stay focused mentally instead of dwelling on the loss to Mississippi Valley. He said the team learned a valuable lesson from the stunning defeat.

“We can’t show up and expect teams we should beat to bow down to us,” Young said.

He said team morale remains high in the face of the team’s three-game skid and cited Michigan’s turnaround last year (0-6 to 10-6).

Young said the team’s success during the Big Ten portion of its schedule will be determined in large part by the play of the underclassmen.

“It’s the young guys mostly. They’re afraid to be good,” he said. “The Big Ten season is definitely the key to unlock this fear.

“Our frontcourt is really going to have to step up, and the backcourt —