Big Ten Tournament Day 2 Photo Gallery (by Jerry Lai)
CHICAGO — Well, at least Northwestern can say it was the team that helped get Illinois back on track on the way to a national championship.
Dee Brown nailed a 3-pointer with his jersey number pasted on the clock twice over (11:11) to give his team a double-digit lead at 19-9. The Wildcats never again came closer than nine as the No. 1 Fighting Illini breezed to a 68-51 win in a packed United Center.
The loss finalized the third consecutive season in which the Cats finished below .500 and the second straight year NU ended one game shy of NIT eligibility with a 15-16 record. The game punctuated a campaign that will leave fans, as NU fans always are left, wondering about what might have been and, of course, about next year.
"It sucks," senior Davor Duvancic said. "I expected to go to the postseason this year, but I guess this is it."
The Cats, who actually played the Illini even in the second half, grabbed a hint of mini-momentum coming out of halftime facing a 16-point deficit. NU sped to a 7-2 run that included several missed opportunities from in the paint and outside.
But with the deficit 11 and a chance to cut it to single digits before the second half’s first media timeout, junior T. J. Parker drove down the lane and was called for traveling amidst a sea of flailing Illini arms.
The call, which Parker denounced rather strongly when asked about it after the game, gave the Illini the ball coming out of the under-16-minute media timeout. Illinois coach Bruce Weber used the gift to set up an alley-oop for Luther Head. The highlight deflated the Cats, who then watched at 18-4 run unfold to put the Illini up 25.
By that time, it was time to start thinking about next year, again. NU coach Bill Carmody seemed to realize as much and pushed his team to finish the year with as much confidence in tact as possible.
"We’re not going to win the game," Carmody screamed to his players as they lined up for an Illini free throw with 4:17 left. "But you gotta work."
The second half did serve as an arena for Mohamed Hachad to continue his emergence. The junior capped his best stat line to date with 13 points and seven rebounds in the final 20 minutes.
His determination to create led to a few reckless plays — Hachad finished with seven turnovers — but his take-it-to-the-rack mentality yielded 23 points and nine boards, both career bests.
"In the last seven games, he’s arguably been our best player," Carmody said. "At least the guy was going north-south a little bit."
Hachad’s 40 points in two games at the Big Ten tournament gave the Cats the knowledge they will have two proven scorers, including Vedran Vukusic, coming back for the 2005-06 season.
But not everyone has "wait ’til next year" for comfort.
"It’s hard because the same thing happened — one game short," Duvancic said. "It’s going to take some time to settle down."
But before his exit, Duvancic left fans with a going-away present with 3:50 left in the game.
Sporting his patented Davor face (a contorted mixture of anger and concentration with a wide-open mouth), the senior backed down Illinois’ Shaun Pruitt in the post. Duvancic gave a head fake, went up with a power right hand hook and sent the ball cleanly through the hoop.
The excitement on his face was almost enough to make you forget NU was down almost 20.
Duvancic kept up the intensity for another minute and a half, until he jogged to the bench for the final time. With 2:24 left in the game he sat down to end his career, blinking ever so slightly.
"It’s not something where you can let it go just like that," he said.
Sports Editor Nick Collins is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected].
