On paper, the men’s basketball team enjoyed a nice winter break, compiling a 5-1 record with wins against two NCAA Tournament teams.

After starting the season 1-4, the Wildcats (7-5) have won six of seven games with victories against DePaul and Seton Hall, which both reached the 2nd round of the 2004 Tournament. NU takes a six-game home winning streak into Wednesday’s Big Ten opener against Indiana at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Coach Bill Carmody, however, hasn’t been impressed.

“There’s a lot of room for improvement,” Carmody said. “I’m glad we’re winning some games, but none of us are satisfied — players, staff, anyone — with the way we’re playing.”

Carmody expressed concern about the team’s offense, which he said “hasn’t been fun to watch this last month.” In its last six games, NU has scored more than 60 points just once, a 72-58 win against Robert Morris.

For the season, the Cats average just 57.9 points per game.

“I don’t remember a year when we had so much to work on in offense, in areas where you can make big strides,” Carmody said.

Carmody also lamented the team’s shooting woes. The Cats are shooting just 31 percent from 3-point range and an abysmal 59.5 percent from the foul line.

The team’s long-range struggles have been well documented. In the first two games of the season, against Portland and New Mexico State, the Cats jacked up a lot of 3-pointers but didn’t convert many. NU shot 10 for 34 and 8 for 31 from beyond the arc in those games.

In particular, junior guard Mohamed Hachad and senior center Davor Duvancic have struggled. Hachad is 3 for 24 from beyond the arc, while Duvancic, a career 34 percent 3-point shooter, has made just 2 of 13 this season.

Carmody has emphasized the need to get the ball inside, especially now with a true center in Mike Thompson.

“The problem is, the guys who get fouled inside are the bad foul shooters,” Carmody quipped. “So is there an answer to this? I don’t know.”

Thompson, a junior transfer from Duke, leads the team in free-throw attempts per game, though he’s hit just 37.8 percent. Only swingman Tim Doyle has shot worse from the charity stripe at 35.7 percent.

“I don’t think we’ve played horrible, but we haven’t played great,” Hachad said. “I think we can do so much more, and we’re not doing it.”

Not all of Carmody’s assessments, however, were negative. Carmody said he was “not unhappy” with the team’s defense, which is holding opponents to 56.9 points per game.

Carmody also praised junior forward Vedran Vukusic, who leads the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game. His 5.5 rebounds per game ranks second behind Thompson, who has averaged 6.2 in six games.

Thompson made his eagerly anticipated debut at home against DePaul on Dec. 15. The 6-foot-10 center made a prompt impact by winning the opening tip, then zipping down the lane to receive a pass for an easy layup. NU won 56-52 as Thompson scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds in 32 minutes.

“It was good to get out there and play,” Thompson said. “It was probably my first game in like two years to really seriously get out and play big minutes, but I think it was good because we got the win. It was fun.”

Thompson’s insertion into the lineup would have meant added depth had Brandon Lee not suffered a fractured face during a practice. Thompson accidentally elbowed Lee days before the DePaul game, sending the freshman guard to the hospital. Lee hasn’t played since Dec. 4 against Chicago State.

Lee, who has been wearing a protective face mask in practice, is available for Wednesday’s game.

Carmody said he’s still unsure whether he’ll redshirt freshmen Sterling Williams and Gary Lee, who have yet to play.

NU’s only loss over break came at Arizona State in a 90-55 rout. The Cats trailed by only three points at halftime, but the Sun Devils used a 17-6 run to pull ahead 65-49 with 8:13 to go. In outscoring the Cats 55-23 in the second half, the Sun Devils seemingly couldn’t miss, shooting 69 percent, while NU crumbled under Arizona State’s pressure defense.

NU recovered with home wins against Robert Morris (72-58), Delaware State (50-43) and Texas-Pan American (56-48). Whereas last year’s team entered conference play with three straight losses, this year’s team begins the Big Ten season with some momentum.

But Carmody is cautiously optimistic.

“I’m glad we’re winning,” he said, “but we can get so much better, which is a good sign.”

Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected]