In past Northwestern seasons, if the Chicago Boyz Acrobatic Team performed aerial feats during halftime like it did Sunday, it would be the most athletic display at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Then again, the Wildcats never had Drew Crawford on their roster before.
On the first possession of NU’s 78-61 win against Indiana, the freshman forward got his defender to bite on a fake left, then drove baseline and threw the ball down with a monstrous dunk.
While coach Bill Carmody insisted it was nothing more than two points, I have to disagree. Not only did it fire up the crowd, it sent a clear message to Indiana: You can’t stop us.
If that play wasn’t convincing enough, the Cats stormed out to leads of 13-2, 18-4 and 21-6. Near the end of the first half, Mike Capocci slammed home another NU dunk with six seconds left. The Cats then came out of halftime on an 8-0 run.
NU’s athleticism was on display on the defensive end as well. The Cats flew all over the place, tying a season-high with nine blocked shots. If stats showed how many times a team contested shots, NU would have had one for just about every Indiana attempt.
So what’s the big deal about a few dunks and good defense? It’s NU we’re talking about, a team known for its willingness to live and die by the 3-pointer, presumably due to an inability to drive to the basket.
On Sunday, the Hoosiers looked like the team unable to get to the hoop. Indiana was hit with multiple shot clock violations and took several ill-advised shots. When the Hoosiers shoot worse than 12 percent from beyond the arc, something must be going right.
Crawford brings an added dimension to the Cats, but more than just him, the rest of the team is showing its athleticism and unwillingness to settle for only deep shots. While more than half of NU’s field goals were from 3-point range, the Cats often played inside-out, either slashing to the basket and then kicking it out or posting up and then passing to the perimeter.
I remember thinking during the early part of NU’s upset win over then-No. 6 Purdue, “NU looks out of its league.” Against Indiana, I thought the same thing, only with the Hoosiers being the ones looking out of their element.
“It’s just us playing basketball like we know we can play,” junior guard Jeremy Nash said. “We can challenge any team in the country, and that’s how we went into the game. We can play with them, and we can beat them. It’s not playing up to their athleticism; it’s playing with our athleticism.”
That kind of confidence is exactly what the Cats need at this critical juncture in the season. Carmody said the team knows it has to “win four, five or six in a row.” I’m not counting on a win at Wisconsin, but winning the rest of the games on the schedule would likely merit an NCAA Tournament invitation.
Winning games in convincing fashion is another way to earn the respect of the selection committee. Same with defending your home court. NU did both of those Sunday, and with home games left against the lower-tier Big Ten teams, it can do it a few more times.
There’s no doubt in my mind the Cats are playing their best basketball of the season. How many times can a team claim its five starters all scored in double figures? Not too often.
Michael Thompson, Nash and Crawford were all slashing to the basket, giving them space to shoot and also opening up opportunities for teammates. John Shurna, NU’s one-man team early in the season, seems to have become a 3-point specialist, taking all but one shot from beyond the arc and knocking down five treys.
With everything clicking and back-to-back wins by double digits, the Cats are sending a message to the rest of the conference. NU is still a team built around strong shooting and relentless defense. But mix in some athleticism, and the Cats’ potential is higher than any acrobat could jump.
Sports editor Brian Chappatta is a Medill junior. He can be reached at [email protected].
