Confidence, momentum and escalating hopes came after Northwestern’s road win against Minnesota last week. And just like that, they were gone.
The Wildcats squandered an opportunity to go 3-0 in Big Ten play with Wednesday night’s 65-61 loss to Penn State at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Chances like that don’t come by Evanston every day. The last time NU won its first three conference games was 38 years ago.
With the benefit of a soft early-season schedule, things appeared to be set up nicely for the Cats (9-5, 2-1 Big Ten). Their first three Big Ten opponents entered Wednesday with a combined 0-5 conference record. Three victories would have meant a showdown with Wisconsin on Saturday for sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.
All that stood in the way was a young Penn State team that went 1-15 in the league last season. The Nittany Lions have a 9-55 record in the Big Ten during the last four years.
“I think that affected us,” senior guard Mohamed Hachad said, “Our confidence was high, and we thought this was not going to be that hard of a game. You can’t do that. This is the Big Ten. You have to come out and play every game.”
Coach Bill Carmody said the team practiced poorly on Monday and Tuesday for the first time in weeks. NU blew an 11-point first-half lead on the way to having its five-game winning streak snapped.
“I don’t see why they’d be overconfident,” Carmody said. “But I’m not ruling it out because we didn’t play like we were focused.
“We were sloppy with the ball when we had the lead. In the zone defense, (Penn State) was getting a lot of open shots. Guys weren’t doing what they were supposed to do with their assignments.”
NU allowed an opponent to score 60 points for the first time since a 71-62 loss to Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 14. The Cats’ ever-present rebounding woes only worsened the defensive struggles, as they were outrebounded 36-25.
Forward Vedran Vukusic tallied a game-high 21 points, but the Big Ten’s leading scorer was shut down for much of the second half. After his layup tied the game at 56 with 4:42 left, Vukusic did not score again. The senior forward said Penn State closed the middle of its zone defense in the second half and defended the passing lanes better.
“It was hard to get into the flow,” Vukusic said. “They made an adjustment at halftime, and we didn’t know how to handle it in the second half.”
Still, the Cats had their opportunities to steal an uninspired victory. Forward Bernard Cote missed three free throws in the final four minutes and finished 1 for 5 from the line. Cote’s 3-point attempt from the corner would have given the Cats the lead with two minutes left, but the shot rattled out of the rim.
Vukusic and junior center Vince Scott misfired from the 3-point line on NU’s next two possessions to seal a disappointing setback. The loss spoiled the return of Hachad, who scored nine points in 22 minutes after missing the last three games recovering from an appendectomy.
The Cats now bring a blemished record to a daunting six-game stretch that includes games against Illinois, Indiana and Michigan State.
“We’re giving back the Minnesota game,” Carmody said. “That’s the way I look at it. That’s what I told the team. We just gave back our advantage there.”
Reach Gerald Tang at [email protected]
