The last time Northwestern beat Ohio State was Feb. 18, 2009. The seniors who will be honored Wednesday were merely freshmen, but that did not stop them from stealing the show.
John Shurna hit the game-winning 3-pointer with just 3.3 seconds remaining to lift the Wildcats past the Buckeyes. The forward does not remember much from the game except the shot that beat the buzzer.
“I just remember (Michael Thompson) passing me the ball and putting it up there,” Shurna said. “Looking back on it now, I’m glad we were able to beat Ohio State because we have had a lot of trouble with them in years past.”
NU (17-11, 7-9 Big Ten) will look to snap the five-game losing skid to No. 10 Ohio State (23-6, 11-5) on Wednesday as it continues its search for a bid into the NCAA Tournament. The last time these teams met was not pretty for NU, which shot 32 percent from the field and was stomped by the Buckeyes, 87-54, on Dec. 28. Ohio State had four players in double figures, three of whom outscored NU’s high-scorer junior forward Drew Crawford, who had 13 points.
The contest was the first Big Ten game for both teams and they have both grown since then. Crawford is particularly concerned with the offense, which wasn’t entirely successful in December.
“We kind of struggled to score against them last time,” Crawford said. “That’s something we’re going to watch (to see) how they’re playing defense and in what ways can we run our offense to exploit what they do and try to score.”
One of the biggest ways NU has changed since the loss is the starting lineup. The Cats have started the past nine games without a center on the floor, which has seemed to steady the ship for NU as it has gone 5-4 in that stretch after starting conference play 2-5. The lineup change also poses matchup problems for opponents who normally start a more traditional lineup. Whom Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger will guard will be a big question, but coach Bill Carmody will be ready no matter what.
“They may still guard (Shurna) with (William) Buford or (Deshaun) Thomas and put Sullinger on somebody else,” Carmody said. “I don’t know what they’re going to do exactly. It might be a mismatch on one end and it might be a mismatch on the other end. We’ll see how they play us and make some adjustments early on.”
The Cats will hope to exploit Sullinger with the smaller lineup, whomever he guards. Davide Curletti said the biggest challenge for NU guarding Sullinger will be to try to keep the 6-foot-9-inch sophomore as far away from the basket as possible. Offensively, the senior center said the Princeton offense should help to exploit Sullinger’s weaknesses moving.
“The main key is to try to stay out of foul trouble,” Curletti said. “The whole Princeton is about making the other team’s center constantly move so we can get backdoor cuts.”
Wednesday also marks Senior Night for the Cats’ four seniors, who will be joined for the occasion by family members who have travelled from as close as Glen Ellyn, Ill., to as far away as Belgrade, Serbia. Curletti said he feels no extra pressure when playing in front of his parents, who will be in attendance on Wednesday. He said they have made the trip from Michigan to Evanston to watch him play many times and that Wednesday night should be no different.
The night brings with it a lot of emotions naturally, but with a big game against Ohio State looming, Shurna is not worried about letting his emotions get the best of him.
“(I’m) just trying to stay focused,” Shurna said. “It’s the last home game and you want to try and go out well. It’s going to be a tough game, but we’re excited for it.”
