You take the good…
In other Big Ten basketball news, don’t look now but Ohio State is on the move once again. After a shocking loss to the Fighting Illini, the Buckeyes have bounced back with four straight wins and are now in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. Their wins have been nothing short of dominant, as they have triumphed by an average margin of 22.5 points during their win streak. While the majority of their recently defeated foes weren’t exactly among the cream of the crop, their 15-point win over Michigan should make waves. Meanwhile, Indiana rode a flurry of dunks and excellent ball movement to its first triple-digit performance in Big Ten play since 1995. Even though it was against Iowa, it’s still impressive to see. And Cody Zeller continued to impress, draining 11-of-12 shots to finish with a season-high 26 points. For a freshman, his immediate impact on the Indiana basketball program is astounding, and he has already become one of the best dunk artists in the conference. Also, it’s worth noting that Iowa really needs to learn how to box out. The number of second-chance dunks the Hawkeyes gave up was simply embarrassing. So, Iowa loses despite hitting 63 percent of its shots from the field. When was the last time you saw that happen? Also, Josh Oglesby was a sight to see even in Iowa’s losing effort. His ability to sink the corner eight ball, he finished with five made shots from behind the arc, was highly impressive.
You take the bad…
You’d think I would be happy with the 68-61 win the Northwestern women’s basketball team put up against Indiana this afternoon. But that’s hardly the case. Let’s face it, let’s call a spade a spade, and admit that the Wildcats were barely able to beat a Hoosiers team that is still winless in Big Ten play. Northwestern hit 34 percent of its shots from the field, turned the ball over 18 times and surrendered 18 offensive rebounds. If the Wildcats play like this, their new win streak will not last long, and their run of consecutive WNIT appearances will come to an end this season. Credit post player Dannielle Diamant with a fine performance, as she posted 11 rebounds, hit 9-of-11 from the charity stripe and led the team with 22 points. Forward Kendall Hackney was also brilliant, recording 11 rebounds of her own, an impressive number for a non-center like Hackney. It’s safe to say she has stepped up her game this season, in Amy Jaeschke’s absence. One player who has struggled to live up to the hype is Morgan Jones, who has hit just 33 percent of her shots from the field this season. She has scored plenty, but that’s hardly surprising when you’ve taken as many shots as the freshman guard has. She was better than usual on Sunday, hitting 6-of-15, including 4-of-8 from behind the arc, but she hit just 3-of-16 against Purdue and 4-of-17 against Wisconsin. Her ability to drive to the hoop is tremendous, her tenacity and toughness on the court are unquestionable but her shot selection has got to improve. I tried looking back at the statistics and I can’t find the last time Morgan Jones made more shots than she missed. That’s not a good sign for Northwestern. The talent is there, but she could stand to develop. And I want to see her drive to the hoop more, those misses I don’t mind, but the shots from three feet behind the arc have got to stop. That’s for damn sure. Certainly, the Wildcats will have to amp up their play, with games upcoming against a Michigan team (16-5, 5-3 Big Ten) that they lost to by 10 at Welsh-Ryan Arena earlier this season, followed by a contest at the Breslin Center against Michigan State (13-9, 5-4). The Spartans’ record might not be all that impressive this season, but let’s not forget how they throttled the Wildcats last season, by a score of 56-25, to end Northwestern’s Big Ten Tournament hopes. It doesn’t get any easier from there as the Wildcats take on the Nittany Lions (16-5, 6-3) at home, before traveling to Lincoln to take on the Cornhuskers (18-3, 7-2). The way things have been going this season, I think a women’s basketball upset of Nebraska might be even more improbable than the football team’s upset was earlier this season. Safe to say, Northwestern will need to step up its play.
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