With excitement growing around Northwestern basketball after wins in seven of their first eight games, the players headed into their annual finals-week break. After the break, the team faced a tough stretch of games that would provide a measuring stick for the program.
The Wildcats (8-4, 0-2 Big Ten) came up short.
Though they took care of inferior University of Missouri-Kansas City (5-12) and Southern Methodist (5-7) squads at home, NU couldn’t find a way to win at then-undefeated Stanford (11-1), Penn State (12-3, 1-1) or home against No. 8 Michigan State (12-2, 3-0). Just as disheartening as the 2-3 stretch was the huge rebounding deficits the Cats faced in the Big Ten games.
NU had made great strides on the boards since last season, when they were out-rebounded by opponents at a clip of nearly 11 per game. Though the size that came with the arrival of a new freshman class had the squad grabbing 3.3 more boards per game than its opponents entering conference play, the Cats were manhandled on the glass by the Nittany Lions and the Spartans. NU collected 17 fewer rebounds than Penn State and 19 fewer than Michigan State.
The Cats were able to keep both games close on the scoreboard. But the rebounding deficit poses a problem for the squad, echoing last year’s numbers when the Cats finished with just one win in 18 Big Ten games.
At Stanford, NU came back to within one with under two minutes left but couldn’t complete the comeback and fell 65-59. Penn State, on the other hand, came back from down by as much as 11 points before mounting a comeback for a 61-57 loss.
The Cats went into the locker room ahead by one at the half against Michigan State, but a 12-0 Spartan run in the second half proved to be the difference in a 77-66 loss. All three losses, along with the 77-62 win over UMKC, pushed NU’s points allowed from less than 50 to more than 55.
Despite the disappointing results and certain signs of weakness, there were some bright spots for the Cats. Junior forward Kevin Coble led the team in points on three occasions and rebounds on four. Freshman forward John Shurna has continued to progress, leading NU with 16 points at Penn State. The Cats have continued to shoot at a good percentage and are now shooting 47 percent from the field, including 39 percent from beyond the arc on the season.
But a tough trip to the Kohl Center – where Wisconsin rarely loses – is on deck tonight, and the Cats must show improvements in defense and rebounding to have a shot at pulling off an upset.
