The Wildcats came back from their break for finals with a vengeance, running a winning streak to nine games and cracking the AP Top 25 poll for the first time in 40 years. The final two games of Winter Break left them in a less-prestigious position: last in the Big Ten.

Northwestern (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten) earned its first venture into the rankings since 1969 with a series of wins against nonconference opponents, but an overtime loss at Illinois and a blowout loss against No. 11 Michigan State made it a short-lived appearance.

“It was a really good recognition for what we’d done so far,” coach Bill Carmody said. “Now we’ve lost two games, and we got smacked in the face by Michigan State.”

The Cats blew out their first few opponents of Winter Break. Against North Carolina A&T, NU set school records by shooting 47 3-pointers and making 20 of them, while freshman guard Drew Crawford set a Big Ten freshman mark by scoring 35 points.

“It was unbelievable,” Crawford said of his breakout performance. “It was one of those games where it feels like every shot you put up is going in.”

The play of Crawford and fellow freshman guard Alex Marcotullio played a major factor in the Cats’ success over the break. Crawford averaged more than 18 points in the team’s four wins, and Marcotullio is leading the nation with one steal every 6.3 defensive chances.

“Coach Carmody expects a lot out of us freshmen,” Crawford said. “and we’re doing a pretty good job meeting his expectations.”

Their performance earned them both spots in Carmody’s seven-man rotation.

“It’s a meritocracy,” Carmody said. “And they’re performing.”

The top of the meritocracy belongs to sophomore forward John Shurna. After going 1-of-10 from the field and missing all seven attempts from 3-point range against North Carolina A&T, Shurna turned in a string of strong performances, averaging 20.6 points and 8.8 rebounds in the last six games.

“My teammates are finding me in good positions to score,” Shurna said. “I have to give a lot of credit to them.”

But Shurna’s teammates directed the praise back at him.

“Johnny’s such a versatile player,” Crawford said. “When teams try to keep him from getting jump shots, he’s driving. And when they stop him from driving, he’s knocking a shot down.”

The wins against North Carolina A&T, North Florida, Stanford and Central Connecticut State gave NU a 10-1 record and a No. 25 ranking. NU’s conference slate began with a game at Illinois, and the Cats punished the Illini with 11 first-half 3s. But NU let a nine-point halftime lead slip away by going 5-of-24 from downtown in the second half and overtime.

“They say you live and die by the 3,” Carmody said. “But sometimes, that’s all you can get.”

What really cost the Cats was interior defense: Illinois big men Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis combined for 51 points and 28 rebounds, handing NU an 89-83 loss.

“We’re not getting that much production in the middle,” Carmody said. “We’ve had problems scoring around the basket aside from John. We’re not getting much from our centers.”

NU kept up with Michigan State for most of the first half, but the game got out of hand after intermission. Shurna put up 29 points, but the rest of the team shot 12-of-42 while the Spartans ran the Cats up and down the court, throwing transition alley-oops en route to a decisive 91-70 victory.

“We got beat pretty bad,” Shurna said. “When you give up 90 points, defense is something you have to work on.”

Shurna earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors for his 56 points in NU’s two losses, but that doesn’t mean much to him.

“I’d rather just keep winning.”[email protected]