Northwestern 83 – Iowa 64
At the conclusion of last night’s battle between the Wildcats and the Hawkeyes, I stood on the floor of Welsh-Ryan Arena, giving high-fives to all the Northwestern players as they walked off the court. And as each player walked by, I uttered one simple statement: Bring This to Mackey. The most important game of the Wildcats’ season awaits them, as they head to West Lafayette for a pivotal contest with the Boilermakers. With the excitement of March Madness already settling in, this game means everything to Northwestern. In past years, the Wildcats would lose this game. This year, they need to reverse the result and defeat a Boilermakers team that really isn’t all that good in my opinion. They lack stars, shooting touch and any significant strengths for that matter. The Wildcats should win, and if they bring to the Hoosier State the same type of effort that they brought against the Hawkeyes, they will win this one.
Quite frankly, I can’t recall a time when I was as proud of Northwestern as I was last night. The Wildcats were in rare form, dominant in a way that I’ve rarely seen them before. Taking on an underrated and relatively hot Hawkeyes team, they delivered an absolute pounding. Dave Sobolewski had the best performance of his young career, finishing with 23 points. But it wasn’t the quantity that impressed me, it was the quality. The freshman point guard wasn’t settling for outside shots, which is a good thing since he lacks the touch of an elite shooter. Instead, he was driving to the hoop relentlessly, time after time. He was pushing the ball up court without fail, sometimes finishing the play by himself with a bold drive and sometimes displaying that trademark vision on the run and finding an open shooter.
Northwestern, for that matter, was dishing the ball all around the court, which probably speaks as poorly of the Hawkeyes’ defense as it speaks well of the Wildcats’ attack. I mean, honestly, what kind of defense lets the ball get flung around the court like that? Northwestern was completing beautiful cross-court passes, utilizing the backdoor game to perfection, hitting threes — all the things they usually strive for — and in an unusual twist, the Wildcats were driving to the hoop with tenacity. Their ability to finish around the hoop was astounding. Thursday night featured an absolute bevy of ridiculous reverse layups, all sorts of close-range shots taken from extraordinary angles, and more often than not, they went in. Whether the Wildcats can make those types of tricky shots on a consistent basis remains to be seen, but it was refreshing to see them drive into the paint and rely on something other than the three.
Back to Sobolewski, it’s too early in his career to make any definitive statements about him and you certainly don’t want to call him a star after just one worthy performance, but this game did show a guy who can do more than just pass the rock. He can drive to the hoop, and push the ball up the court, and not only could he do it, he should do it in every single game. Sobolewski was a little Energizer Bunny out there on Thursday night. Literally from the opening tip to the final whistle, he was sprinting past Iowa’s defense and taking it to the hole. Not every defense will let him through like the Hawkeyes did, and trees like Cody Zeller and Meyers Leonard, I’m sure, are licking their lips at the chance to block Soboloewski one more time, but Sobolewski should continue driving because it keeps a defense honest, and because even if half of his shots get blocked and half go in, that’s still a good percentage. And thankfully for the Wildcats, they only take on the elite big men of the conference a couple of more times this season. Iowa and Penn State lack the type of big men that can swat shots away. Against Ralph Sampson III, Cody Zeller and Jared Sullinger, well let’s just say Sobolewski might want to be a little more careful.
Also, in an underrated point from Thursday’s game, Northwestern’s defense truly played a huge role in its win. When you play a 1-3-1 zone defense, you need to have active hands. That’s the entire point of the zone defense, each player has a sphere around him, about seven feet of wingspan that he takes up and uses to clog the court. The zone is all about intercepting passes, and cutting off areas of the court, but when your hands are down, you might as well be a stick. Thursday night, those Wildcats defenders had their hands out, and the result was a myriad of turnovers, particularly off of errant entry passes. Yes, a fair amount of Iowa’s 18 giveaways came off of passes that sailed into the fifth row of the stands, but even many of those were the result of pressure, and many other steals came in the paint. That’s no coincidence, ladies and gentlemen. It was also a big night for Reggie Hearn, who went a long way toward showing that Sunday afternoon was no fluke. He had another solid game against Iowa, continuing to show off his improved touch from behind the arc, continuing to drive to the hoop and continuing to fight for loose balls.
The statistic of the game though has to be the team assist-to-turnover ratios. Iowa had 14 assists and 18 giveaways; Northwestern had 22 assists and seven turnovers. That’s practically the margin of victory right there if you think about it, and as Bill Carmody astutely pointed out, that was the key to the game.
And now, as a result of their three straight wins, the Wildcats have a path to the NCAA Tournament so simple, even a caveman could do it. Sorry GEICO to steal from you there. Hopefully, the fact that I just mentioned your name makes up for stealing your slogan. Anyway, Northwestern currently stands at 5-6 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats could finish 8-10, win a game or two in the Big Ten Tournament and make it, but why go through all that fuss. It’s reasonable, at this point, to expect them to finish with a 9-9 record. In order to do that, they would have to go 4-3 over their final seven games, and in a perfect coincidence, they have four upcoming games with non-ranked, mediocre teams coming up, as well as three upcoming bouts with Top 25 teams. That should be four wins, three losses right there. But before you all get into a tizzy, note that I said simple, not easy. No Big Ten game is easy, and certainly Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Mackey Arena and the Bryce Jordan Center each present challenges of their own. But the formula is simple enough.
On February 12, 2011, WIN at Purdue. The Boilermakers are not that good a team, they can’t shoot, and neither Robbie Hummel nor Lewis Jackson are bonafide stars. If the Wildcats can overcome their occasional road heebie-jeebies, they should win this one.
On February 18, 2011, WIN versus Minnesota. The Golden Gophers are a gritty team, but they turn the ball over far too much and score far too little to defeat the Wildcats twice in one season. Northwestern needs to use this game as a chance at revenge, and insert pride into the equation. The Wildcats should also be grateful that the man who would have tormented their weak interior defense, Trevor Mbakwe, is out of the season.
On February 21, 2011, WIN versus Michigan. This a tough one, and not just because Michigan is ranked. The Wolverines rebound the ball far better than the Wildcats do, but Northwestern should thrive on its home court, after nearly defeating Michigan at the Crisler Center. It will be interesting to see which Tim Hardaway Jr. shows up at Welsh-Ryan Arena. As talented a player as any in the Big Ten, he has hit just 13 of his last 47 attempts from the field.
On February 25, 2011, WIN at Penn State. University Park has had a hex on Northwestern of late, but the Wildcats need to step up and win this one. The Nittany Lions have struggled this season and are far too one-dimensional to be a legitimate threat. Penn State has made just 38 percent of its shots this season, so this is another chance for Northwestern’s aggressive defense to wreak some havoc.
On March 3, 2011, WIN at Iowa. The Wildcats clearly have better scoring threats than the Hawkeyes do, and are significantly less sloppy. Iowa lacks the type of big man who usually gives Bill Carmody nightmares. Playing on the road will be a challenge but with their NCAA hopes likely on the line in the regular-season finale, the Wildcats needs to play with their hair on fire.
You may notice I’ve put five should-wins on the docket. That’s because, knowing the Wildcats, they will find a way to blow one of these games. But that’s OK. Just win four out of five, and you’ll head to Indianapolis with a NCAA Tournament to play for.
The Facts of Life 