Northwestern Basketball

Feb. 12, 2009 probably cost Northwestern an NCAA tournament bid last season.

Up by 14 with 5:16 to go, the Wildcats looked like they had the Fighting Illini of Illinois beat. But Illinois fought back and drew within six points with one minute remaining. Even then, it appeared that NU had the game in hand.

But the Fighting Illini deployed a full court press that baffled the Wildcats and they choked the game away, eventually losing 60-59.

It was a stunning collapse that left me standing speechless and frozen in the NU student section for about five minutes afterwards.

When you've been doing nothing but losing for so long, it's hard to learn how to become a winner, even when you have the talent to do so.

But in Saturday's 70-62 victory over Stanford, NU showed that they've come a long way when it comes to finishing games, yet there's still plenty of room for improvement as they prepare to start Big Ten play on Dec. 30…against Illinois.

All the credit in the world goes to that dynamic duo of John Shurna and Juice Thompson, who I wrote about earlier in the year. They were at it again as Shurna scored a team-high 22 points and Juice delivered 15.

But the way they did it was what most impressed me.

Shurna's shot from downtown was off again, but his low post game continues to be one of the most pleasant surprises of the young season. He consistently finds different ways to score, depending on what part of his game is "on" that night.

When he puts it all together...watch out. Meanwhile, Juice didn't even hit a two-pointer, but drilled three triples, including a crucial one as time ticked away.

The three pointers (6-for-25), and the free throws (22-for-33) were a problem for NU, but they still managed to find themselves up by 10 with 4:27 to go in the game. They were very aggressive against the Cardinal. On offense, they got almost every Stanford starter in foul trouble, while on defense they forced 18 turnovers.

But after they built that 10-point lead, Stanford's Jeremy Green started to give NU fans flashbacks to last year's collapse against Illinois. He scored the next nine points of the game to pull the Cardinal within one with 1:33 to go.

That's when Juice showed his leadership ability, nailing a dagger three to end the 9-0 run.

Juice's take-charge mentality this year has been a key factor in NU's sensational 9-1 start, and his three-pointer assured the 'Cats of another big win. They've now beaten teams from the Big East, Big 12, ACC, and Pac 10.

One more tune-up (Central Connecticut State) remains for the Wildcats, but I think they're ready for Big Ten play. The opener against Illinois will be very interesting, because maybe they can finally put that haunting memory of last year behind them for good.

Saturday's victory over Stanford was a good first step.

It's been a great start to the season, but as NU football coach Pat Fitzgerald would say...now it's time to FINISH.

Everyone knows Northwestern men's basketball has never made the NCAA Tournament. But did you know they haven't appeared in the AP Top 25 since the 1968-1969 season? That's the year my mom was a freshman in college, as in...it was a long time ago. (Just kidding mom!)

Wins over North Florida and Stanford this week could very well propel NU into that rarefied air. Right now, the Wildcats are technically 31st in the country, as they've received 59 votes in the latest AP poll.

Oh by the way, that's more votes than their in-state foe Illinois got from the AP.

Stanford isn't exactly a world beater (they've lost to the likes of San Diego and Oral Roberts), but they're a reasonably talented team that took Kentucky to overtime before losing earlier in the year. Plus, a win over them would give NU non-conference wins over teams from the Big East, ACC, Big 12, and Pac 10.

Another factor that makes this upcoming game against Stanford big, in my mind, is that the Wildcats have not beaten the Cardinal during my time in Evanston. The past three years have featured three pretty close games, all ending with the 'Cats coming up short.

The game will be telecast on the ACTUAL Big Ten Network (not their online stream that charges people money to watch), and the North Florida game is actually on ESPN U. So both games will be visible to interested members of the media, who vote in the AP poll. The last time NU played North Florida was in 2006, and it was an ugly, ugly game.

But the North Carolina A&T game showed one very important thing: this year's version of the 'Cats can blow-out inferior competition. And when I say blow-out, I mean, absolutely obliterate. The 90-65 victory set all sorts of records, including Drew Crawford pouring in 35 points, a NU frosh single-game record. Not only that, but NU hit the most three-pointers in one game in Big Ten history, as they drained 20 from downtown.

Impressive, to be sure, but I'd like to see another dominating performance against North Florida and a comfortable double digit win over Stanford, and then they'll crack the AP top 25.

That would set up their Big Ten opener in Champaign against the Illini quite nicely. NU could possibly go down-state being the ranked team, not Illinois. A crazy turn of events, but as I said before , this team has the heart and talent to make it all the way to March Madness.

Northwestern men's basketball is for real. I have no doubt about that. Everyone wrote them off after both Kevin Coble and Jeff Ryan were declared out for the year due to injury.

But sophomore forward John Shurna and junior point guard Michael "Juice" Thompson, have put the 'Cats on their backs and NU currently stands at 6-1 on the year. It's not a soft 6-1 either; they knocked off a ranked Notre Dame team on a neutral court.

Then they came back the next night and beat Big 12 foe Iowa State. A few nights later, they went on the road to a hostile ACC environment and helped the Big Ten get the win in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge by defeating North Carolina State.

Oh and by the way, all three of those teams were undefeated at the time they took on the Wildcats. The notable thing about the NC State victory, was the fact that NU was able to win in front of a crowd of over 11,000 fans. A road win like that shows the maturity of this team. It sure beats losing by 40 at Virginia like they did two years ago.

Shurna and Thompson may not be household names in the Big Ten yet, but they will be by the end of the year. It's clear Shurna's time with the USA U19 National Team, helped his game tremendously.

He's second on the team in scoring, pouring in over 15 points per game, but more importantly his rebounding has been OUTSTANDING, as he's averaging a team-leading seven boards per game.

If there's one thing that's absolutely killed the 'Cats the past few years, it's been their struggles pulling down rebounds. Shurna has showed he can hang with and even flat-out outplay the big boys in the low post (including All-American Luke Harangody and All-Big 12 star Craig Brackins).

Not only that, the kid just has FUN out on the court. He is the most cheerful basketball player I've seen in my life. It must be very disconcerting to his opponents as he smiles his way to 15 points and seven rebounds per game.

Even when Shurna has an off night (he struggled with his shooting a bit against NC State), Michael "Juice" Thompson has been there to pick up the slack and then some.

In fact, Juice leads all Wildcats with 17.4 points per game, including a game-high 22 against NC State. Thompson is a quiet guy who played well his first two seasons, but this year he's taken on a much bigger leadership role. He can often be seen being very vocal on the court and his aggressive drives to the hoop are impressive to watch.

Shurna and Thompson have made the biggest impact, but freshman guard Alex Marcotullio and senior guard Jeremy Nash, deserve a lot of recognition as well.

Marcotullio has knocked down 50 percent of his three-pointers this year, while Nash leads the team in assists and plays some of the best defense you'll see in the entire conference. He's also improved his shot to the point that NU fans can feel comfortable with him taking a three every now and then.

Right now, the 'Cats haven't played a game since the December 1st victory over NC State, but they will resume their schedule this Sunday against North Carolina A&T.

Stanford is the only remaining challenging non-conference game for the 'Cats, a victory over the Cardinal would leave NU with a 12-1 record outside the Big Ten (with the lone loss being to a ranked Butler team). A record like that would mean that NU would only have to get to a .500 record in Big Ten play and they'd be serious NCAA Tournament contenders.

If they do make it to March Madness AND the NU football team wins the Outback Bowl, this will be the greatest sports year in school history.

It was a strange sight; Northwestern standing at half-court of the UIC Pavilion holding a giant tournament trophy. They are the champions of the Chicago Invitational. Northwestern hadn't been the champions of any tournament since 1993. Going into the four-team tournament portion of the Invitational, no one really expected NU to get past the first round.

But sophomore forward John Shurna, who earned tournament MVP honors, would not let them lose to Iowa State on Saturday, and he tallied a career-high 25 points in Friday's upset over No. 23 Notre Dame.

He "only" scored 23 against Iowa State, but he had 17 before you could blink in the 1st half. Northwestern's offense was absolutely stagnate against the Cyclones early on in the game. Shurna was the only man who kept them going. He drilled two three-pointers early, but actually struggled with his outside shot as the game went on, finishing 3-10 from deep.

No worries, Shurna went inside and displayed the best post moves I've seen from him during his short time at NU.  He wasn't just a scorer either, he pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Shurna doesn't just put points on the board, he makes others better as well.

As the second half rolled around, other NU players started to give Shurna some help. The Princeton Offense was run to perfection a number of times, as the 'Cats scored on a bunch of back-door cuts.

Junior point guard Michael "Juice" Thompson and Senior shooting guard Jeremy Nash were named to the All-Tournament team for good reason. They each tallied double figures in the finale against Iowa State, and Juice was unstoppable at times against Notre Dame. Meanwhile, Nash's defense at the top of the 1-3-1 was a wonder to behold versus the Fighting Irish.

Speaking of defense, Iowa State handled both the 1-3-1, and the 2-3 zone defenses pretty well, so NU head coach Bill Carmody did something you don't often see: he instructed the 'Cats to play man to man.

It worked. During a 12-minute span in the second half, the Cyclones tallied exactly ONE field goal.

The X-factor on this team, and the man who gives me great hope for this season is freshman shooting guard Alex Marcotullio. Not only does he shoot the lights out from outside, he plays terrific defense as well. He made some excellent defensive plays against the Cyclones, leading NU with three steals. He tallied 13 points against Notre Dame, including two dagger threes, and chipped in 8 points versus ISU.

But what impresses me most about the freshman is not necessarily his stats. It's his attitude. The kid WANTS the ball in crunch time, and he's tenacious on defense. His body language on the court just exudes confidence. Plus, his high socks are just plain baller.

NU's performance in the Chicago Invitational was very impressive to be sure, but there was some significant room for improvement.

First and foremost, they have to get SOMETHING out of 6'11 Luka Mirkovic and 7'0'' Kyle Rowley. Both showed flashes of competence last year as freshmen, but as of now they've seemingly regressed this season.

Rowley turned the ball over three times in nine minutes against ISU, while Mirkovic looks very confused and nervous whenever he gets the ball. He had a nice game against Notre Dame, but struggled against Iowa State.

Both were so bad on Saturday that Carmody went to reserve big man Davide Curletti, who didn't even play against Notre Dame. The sophomore made the most out of his opportunity though, draining a huge three from the top of the key and dishing out a couple of assists. 

Right now I'm holding out hope that at the very least Mirkovic can get back to last year's form, but as of now, there's a big void in the middle.

Drew Crawford continues to be a bit of an enigma. The freshman has tremendous athleticism and I love his contributions on the boards, but he looks uncomfortable in the Princeton Offense. He's very streaky too, after a huge game against Liberty, he went scoreless against Notre Dame.

He came back and played OK against ISU, tallying four points and pulling down four rebounds while blocking two shots. But they need more from him. I'd like to see Crawford average about 10 points per game. If he can, he provides another option for NU on offense, and they become even more dangerous.

Besides that, I'm very pleased with where NU is at right now. They have a big road test coming up on December 1 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge as they take on North Carolina State. If they can pull out a win there, the only remaining potentially tough non-conference game is when Stanford comes to town on December 19.

They have a brutal start to the Big Ten schedule, as they take on a bunch of NCAA tournament teams right off the bat. They must avoid the 0-4 start that made their climb towards the NCAA bubble quite the uphill journey last year.

If they do, we could be in for one wild ride towards Selection Sunday as the season rolls along.

When Joe McKeown coached women's basketball at George Washington, success wasn't something fans hoped for, it was what they expected.

During his 19 seasons there, he went to the NCAA Tournament 15 times. His final two years were some of his best, as GW advanced to the Sweet 16 both seasons.

Then he left and came to Northwestern.

Northwestern women's basketball has had what McKeown has described as "a losing culture" for over a decade. The last time they made the Big Dance was 1997, where they lost in the first round to McKeown's GW squad.

Last year was McKeown's first season in Evanston, where he suffered his first losing record as a head coach. Northwestern won three Big Ten games last year. That matched their combined Big Ten wins total from the previous TWO seasons.

But this year they're off to a 4-0 start and upset No. 15 DePaul Tuesday night by a final score of 59-55.

They did it mostly through the leadership and determination of players who were recruited by former NU head coach Beth Combs.

Combs showed some good recruiting during her finals years in Evanston, but McKeown's coaching ability has been what's made the difference. They enjoy playing for him, and his knowledge of basketball is unparalleled.

Take the case of junior point guard Beth Marshall. Marshall played significant minutes under Combs as a true freshman, but didn't have a particularly good shot and was turnover prone.

Then she missed two years due to injury. After sitting out last year, Marshall is back and might be the key to the entire season. She does not look like someone who has been unable to play for two years. She is playing tenacious defense, forcing a lot of turnovers and she's been the undisputed leader on the offensive side of the floor.

Tuesday, she put it upon herself to pick up the scoring slack as star center Amy Jaeschke had a miserable day from the field. With DePaul making a late charge to take a six-point lead. Marshall coolly drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit in half. Then she stole the ball on the other end of the floor to continue the 'Cats furious rally in the final few minutes.

This rejuvinated women's team only has one senior, and that's 5th year senior shooting guard Kristin Cartwright. She too has had her struggles during her career, she missed the entire season with an injury two years ago.

But yesterday she not only provided some crucial early offense to finish with 13 points, she distributed the ball well too, dishing out five assists. Cartwright has always been an excellent free throw shooter, and she showed she could do it in the clutch as well, knocking down the two free throws that gave NU the lead for good.

In the front court, Jaeschke made up for her struggles on offense with some outstanding defense. She blocked a couple shots late that helped NU get the victory. Normally, NU cannot win if Jaeschke struggles offensively, Tuesday proved that this team has other players who can step up, and that's exactly what they did.

The attitude and depth of this year's women's team is better than it's been for many years. But McKeown, a perfectionist if there ever was one, says they still have a long way to go.

The 'Cats turned the ball over way too much Tuesday, so that will give the coach something to focus on as they go forward.

It's very likely NU could be 6-0 heading into the Big Ten/ACC Challenge against Clemson. If they win that game, then we might be talking about a team on the cusp of the top 25.

I went to practice a few weeks ago and talked to Coach McKeown. He told me that his teams at George Washington practiced with a certain swagger. They knew they were good and practiced and played with the attitude that no one could beat them except themselves. He told me at the time that NU was nowhere near that level yet, and they still had a lot of bad habits they had to overcome.

Tuesday was a HUGE step in the right direction. It was the first time they'd beaten DePaul in over a decade, and the first time they'd knocked off a top 25 team since the 2005-2006 season. It's also their first 4-0 start since the 1995-1996 team started 9-0 on their way to the WNIT.

If you're interested in checking out this rapidly improving squad, their schedule can be found here . 

They're definitely a team to watch, so you might want to jump on the bandwagon now before March rolls around.

This article originally published on www.stadiumjourney.com

The first thing you need to know about Welsh-Ryan Arena is that it is not an arena. It’s a gym. I hope you understand that this distinction is a very good thing. You immediately feel the intimacy, and you know there is no bad seat.  This cozy home of the Northwestern Wildcats seats 8,117 and has been their home since 1952.

FANFARE Score: 21 (out of 35)

Food and Beverage: 2

Make sure you get something before you come to Welsh-Ryan as there really isn’t anything available besides snacks and soda.

Atmosphere: 4

I mentioned earlier that there is no bad seat.  Well that’s true from a viewing perspective, but there are actually a lot of bad seats. In fact, the worst part about the game is having to sit down. Welsh-Ryan is mostly filled with old school bleachers, and when you sit you’re immediately leg-to-leg with the people next to you, as well as having a knee in your back, and a back in your knee.

If you take nothing else from this review, please at least heed this piece of advice: Sit in sections 101-107 or 201-207. You’ll get an actual chair, and believe me, you’ll be glad you did. Adding to my discomfort was the elderly man sitting in front of me, who continually kept sliding off the bleacher, and deeper into my leg.

Now, that one (important) criticism aside, this was a great place to see a game. For my experience there were essentially two student sections—the Northwestern sections behind each basket, and the Illinois section up near me.

That led to an extremely charged atmosphere, made even greater as Illinois came back to steal a win from Northwestern who was tied or lead (literally) 39 minutes and 58 seconds. Demetri McCamey made a 12-foot bank shot with under two seconds to play, and the crowd erupted in my section, and sunk in the Northwestern section.

Neighborhood: 3

Prior to the game, I spent some time in beautiful downtown Evanston (about a mile or so from the gym). I began my night at Merle’s, a southwestern themed BBQ joint, where I enjoyed a half slab of Chicago style ribs, some creamy mac and cheese, and a Goose Island Honker’s Ale.

I then walked a few blocks to Tommy Nevin’s pub—which was filled with Illini fans, where I sat at the bar and tried a Rogue Yellow Snow Ale (which was a new beer for me, and very tasty). I liked Nevin’s quite a bit—good beer selection, and it felt like an authentic Irish pub, without seeming to try too hard.

Next, I made the short drive up to the Arena, making a stop at Bluestone Bar, which was completely packed. It’s remarkable that it’s the only bar within easy walking distance to Welsh-Ryan and the football stadium, Ryan Field. An entrepreneur would do well to open another establishment to handle the overflow.

I made one additional stop at Mustard’s Last Stand, for a Polish dog. Mustard’s is a small traditionally Chicago hot dog and hamburger joint with plenty of interesting local sports memorabilia and autographed photos on the wall. I would recommend each of the establishments I tried.

Being a fan of a team that hosted the first NCAA tournament, yet has never participated in the big dance has got to be difficult.  That being said, the Northwestern students bring good energy, and the school does a good job of getting them down on the court behind the baskets. 

It’s unfortunate that the alumni and fans don’t fill up the rest of arena.  Instead, rival school alumni are able to take away some of the edge of the home court advantage as there are usually plenty of tickets available.

Access: 4

Street parking is plentiful around Welsh-Ryan, and with only 8,000 fans rolling out, it’s generally easy to get going after the game.  Restrooms are small so you may want to sneak out a couple of minutes before halftime.

Return on Investment: 4

With the exception of the discomfort of the seats, the experience of Welsh-Ryan is well worth the price of admission.

Etc: 1

One extra point for that old gym feel, something that makes college basketball games special.

Paul Swaney is a Co-Founder of Stadium Journey

Last season, Northwestern finished 10th in the country in Assist to Turnover Ratio. Holding on to the rock is normally one of their strong suits, as they dished out 472 assists last year, while only turning it over 346 times.

In Wednesday's loss to Butler, they coughed up the ball 16 times, while only netting 15 assists. The Bulldogs seem to have that effect on Northwestern. In last year's game, NU turned it over 17 times, while only tallying 14 assists in a 57-53 win for Butler.

Northwestern is not talented enough to get away with so many mistakes. The Princeton Offense relies on precision passing and perfect timing, neither of which were evident on Wednesday.

Northwestern is desperate for some scoring right now, so that's forcing Michael "Juice" Thompson and John Shurna to force stuff that simply isn't there. They each turned it over four times, but also combined for 30 of NU's 54 points.

Center Luka Mirkovic had a night to forget. Bill Carmody said after the game that they thought they could exploit his height advantage down low, but it simply wasn't to be tonight.

He was only 1-for-7 from the floor and got benched in favor of Kyle Rowley and later in the game, Davide Curletti.

If Northwestern expects to have success, they absolutely, positively, need a low-post presence. Without one, you'll see a lot more scores in the 50s like tonight.

Another issue on offense is that Jeremy Nash reverted back to his old non-aggressive ways after he missed an early dunk. Nash is the only senior on the floor right now; he can't let one missed dunk prevent him from driving to the hoop the rest of the game.

Meanwhile, starting small forward Drew Crawford for the second consecutive game provided absolutely nothing. I don't mean to call out the freshman, but he's playing like one, and it's killing the flow of the offense.

But for those of you who like to see the silver lining, the bottom line is that Butler was just as effective last year against NU, and that was when the 'Cats had Coble, Moore, and Ryan on the floor.

This year they didn't have those three and struggled just as badly, but Butler hit a few more shots and won by a more convincing margin.

Quite simply, Butler is one of the best teams in the entire country, and now Northwestern can "flush it," in football coach Pat Fitzgerald's words.

After-all, Tennessee State is coming to town on Sunday. It will be a good chance for Nash and Crawford to gain some confidence, and for NU to experiment more with guys like freshman Alex Marcotullio, who impressed Coach Carmody with his play off the bench against the Bulldogs.

If Northwestern can find some guys to put the ball in the hoop besides Thompson and Shurna; that will greatly reduce the amount of turnovers resulting from those two trying to do too much; and the 'Cats will be in much better shape once Big Ten play comes around.

Dear Northwestern Men's Basketball,

No one believes in you.

Your season is over and it's barely even started.

Your leading scorer and rebounder from last year is out for the season after opting for foot surgery .

Your best defender off the bench is out for the year with a torn ACL.

Your best defender among your starting five has a heart condition that may or may not limit him if he's forced to play a lot of minutes.

By the way, may I remind you that Northwestern has never made the NCAA tournament? History is working against you; you might as well give up now.

That's the message you're been hearing all week...from your own fans. Northwestern basketball fans are prone to pessimism, so they couldn't believe their ears when men like Tom Izzo and Andy Katz started predicting that this would finally be the year you guys made it to the Big Dance.

With all these injuries and ailments...things are back to where they're supposed to be. Northwestern will be out-manned and out-gunned in this resurgent Big Ten. They will win a maximum of 12 games all season.

That's what everyone is saying.

I'm here to tell you what hopefully you already believe...that's a bunch of baloney.

I don't know what everyone else was looking at in the opener against Northern Illinois, but it's apparent you've mastered the 1-3-1 zone defense.

You know as well as I do, for all the great things Kevin Coble did on offense, he was a liability on defense.

With the 1-3-1 of Nash, Crawford, Mirkovic, Shurna, and Thompson, you guys might just have the best defense in the Big Ten. 

You guys forced 17 turnovers with that swarming D, while your offense only turned it over 9 times.

Yes, I know, it was ONLY Northern Illinois. But I saw the hustle and the passion you have out there, and the Huskies were completely overwhelmed.

I saw John Shurna diving all over the gym, knocking passes away.

I saw Luka Mirkovic battle in the low-post, suffer a bloody nose after taking an elbow to the face, but come back in and be as physical as ever.

I saw the slimmed-down Kyle Rowley make plays on both ends of the floor.

Losing Jeff Ryan hurt, but if Nash needs a breather, Crawford can play the top of the 1-3-1, and men like Ivan Peljusic and Mike Capocci provide energy off the bench on both sides of the floor.

If I saw that passion against little old NIU, what can I expect to see against the big boys like Butler? I'm fired up just thinking about it.

I also saw that you guys had a terrible shooting night.

That doesn't happen too often...yet you still won by 22.

I saw Jeremy Nash driving to the basket like never before and Luka Mirkovic showing-off low post moves NU hasn't seen in many a year.

Now I see Butler coming to town, and I hear the voices from around the NU campus: "Without Coble, there's no way this team makes it to March Madness, and Butler will wipe the floor with them."

Even if you beat Butler, it will be seen as "just a fluke," and people will say that you'll come down to earth eventually.

You have the chance to be the greatest Cinderella story of all-time.

But no one will believe in you until your name is called on Selection Sunday.

Except for me.

Sincerely,

Aaron Morse

Game one of the 2009-2010 Northwestern men's basketball season is in the books, and I'm here to tell you this will be unlike any season you've witnessed during the Bill Carmody era.

This is a tough, physical, aggressive basketball team. Bill Carmody's Princeton Offense and 1-3-1 zone defense don't typically lend themselves to bruisers, but that's exactly what we have on our hands with this squad.

The reason is simple: say hello to senior Jeremy Nash and sophomore Luka Mirkovic. Both played significant minutes last year, but both have made critical offseason improvements that have changed this team for the better.

In a 77-55 whipping of the Northern Illinois Huskies, Nash poured in a game-high 20 points as he grabbed four boards and dished out three assists. He played his usual phenomenal defense at the top of the 1-3-1 as he notched four steals and even blocked a shot.

But what stands out about his performance is that Nash went 10-12 from the free throw line. Guards in the Princeton Offense NEVER get to the free throw line that much. But Nash did, and it's because he was not afraid to drive to the hoop. In the past, Nash was content passing the ball and occasionally taking a three-point shot.

Not anymore.

He attacked the rack repeatedly, forcing NIU players to foul him left and right. He also threw down some forceful fast-break slam dunks, which got the crowd at Welsh Ryan Arena fired up.

For all the good things Craig Moore did during his time in Evanston, he was not known for aggressively driving to the basket.

It appears that's what Nash is going to be able to do this year for the Wildcats, and that adds a whole new dimension to their offense.

Meanwhile, Luka Mirkovic was a revelation at center.

He chalked up 15 points, pulled down five rebounds, and got to the free throw line 10 times. He hit seven of those free throws and even suffered a blow to the face that caused his nose to bleed.

When was the last time you saw blood spill on the court of Welsh Ryan Arena? It happened not once, but twice in this physical contest, as a NIU player also started bleeding at one point in the second half.

Another first for me was witnessing a spectacular alley-oop slam dunk as Jeff Ryan lobbed a perfect pass to Mike Capocci for the slam. That brought the house down.

Ryan unfortunately went down with an injury later in the game, further hurting NU's depth after the loss of Kevin Coble to a foot injury for at least a month and probably more.

But oddly enough, the loss of Coble, who is one of the great finesse players in the Big Ten, has forced this team to be even tougher. Their top skill-player is out, so they have to attack the hoop more and play even more aggressively on defense.

The defense, once they switched into the 1-3-1, was a force to be reckoned with. Nash and sophomore forward John Shurna particularly stood out on that side of the ball. Shurna wasn't credited for any steals, but his long arms caused havoc on his side of the zone.

This wasn't a good three-point shooting night for the 'Cats as they only hit 23.8 percent of their shots from downtown.

But it's their new-found toughness, personified by the development of Nash and Mirkovic, that can have 'Cats fans still realistically dreaming the impossible dream.

The critics will say, it was ONLY Northern Illinois. That's a very legitimate point. But NIU is no slouch, they were picked to finish second in their division of the MAC.

But the critics are right. Butler this upcoming Wednesday will be a much better test for NU.

If they can find a way to beat the Bulldogs, we could be in for quite the ride...all the way to March.

In Evanston, the skies are getting darker earlier, and the weather is starting to get very chilly.

Winter Quarter is fast approaching for students, and soon snow will begin hitting the ground almost daily.

But for college sports fans, this is the best time of the year.

Northwestern men's basketball tips off Friday evening as the 'Cats take on Northern Illinois at the quaint Welsh Ryan Arena. Then the next day, NU football battles for the inaugural "Land of Lincoln" trophy with the Illinois Fighting Illini. 

NU hoops' high hopes of making the NCAA tournament have taken a severe beating with the announcement that star senior forward Kevin Coble will miss significant time with a foot injury.

But the excitement of the start of basketball season is undeniable. NU still has a very talented team, led by junior point guard Michael "Juice" Thompson and sophomore forward John Shurna. If sophomore center Luka Mirkovic and freshman guard/forward Drew Crawford can make a significant impact this year, postseason hopes remain very much alive.

Northwestern basketball is as unpredictable as NU football. They beat Michigan State and Purdue on the road last year, but also suffered a stunning collapse to Illinois and Purdue at home. The team is coached by the always entertaining Bill Carmody, who is a treat to watch during the game.

Meanwhile, Northwestern football is one win away from definitely securing a bowl berth, and if they can beat Illinois and Wisconsin, a return trip to the Alamo Bowl is likely.

Coming off a stunning upset of previously unbeaten Iowa, excitement about NU football is at a high here in Evanston not seen since immediately after the win over Illinois last season. Adding to that excitement is the chance to see NU knock their bitter rival Illinois out of bowl contention for the second consecutive year.

As a sports fan on campus, I am so excited for this weekend. If both versions of the 'Cats can pull off a win, it will be a great start to the best time of the year. Hopefully, that time won't end until NU wins the Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2.