Iowa vs Northwestern Basketball recap

If the Northwestern Wildcats fail to reach their first-ever NCAA Tournament this season, they'll know when and where their dream most likely died.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist or, for that matter, a Northwestern education to realize that college basketball's most downtrodden power conference program suffered a cringe-inducing and catastrophic evening in Iowa City. This complete clunker at Carver-Hawkeye Arena will probably prevent the Wildcats from making the Big Dance for the first time in a woebegone program's hardwood history.

In past seasons, losing at Iowa wouldn't carry any negative weight, but this year, the Hawkeyes just aren't as loaded as they've been in the past. Entering Wednesday night's contest, Iowa coach Todd Lickliter could point to just two Big Ten wins in 11 conference games. The Hawks sported an 8-16 record, which - on one hand - made this game eminently winnable for Northwestern. However, the flip side of playing a team with an 8-16 record is that if you can't leave town with a "W," you're asking for a trip to the NIT, and that's where the Purple people are likely headed once again.

This game was a train wreck from the word go for coach Bill Carmody's Cats. Northwestern is usually the team that relies on the 3-point shot to flummox the opposition, but on this evening, Iowa took that formula and threw it right back in the Wildcats' faces. The Hawkeyes nailed 12 of 24 3-pointers, with five different players hitting at least one long bomb and shooting specialist Devan Bawinkel draining 5 of 8 beyond the arc. Northwestern had entered this game allowing opponents to shoot just 29 percent from long distance, but Iowa's smoking-hot 50-percent shooting seemed to unnerve the visitors from Evanston, Ill.

Indeed, as Iowa started strong and remained on top of its game, Northwestern never found its composure long enough to make a legitimate push. The Wildcats never got closer than nine points (37-28) in the second half, as Carmody's club never developed a comfortable rhythm on offense. In the first 20 minutes, NU labored to just 22 points in a decidedly limp display, as every Wildcat other than Michael Thompson (who led the team with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting) combined to hit just 6 of 20 shots, and zero 3-pointers in seven attempts. Northwestern might have scored 43 points in the second half, but most of that total came from a late flurry only after the issue had long been decided. Iowa built a 64-45 lead at the 5:15 mark of regulation, and it was only then that Northwestern began to score with an appreciable degree of consistency. A total of 20 garbage-time points was the only reason NU cracked 55 in this contest. No amount of lipstick in the world could disguise this pig.

It's sad but true: A Northwestern team that's become a darling of college hoops junkies in search of a good story decided to pull a porker on a night when losing was not an option. Now, the Wildcats simply can't lose more than one game over the next four weeks. Making the NCAA Tournament is going to be that difficult for a team that shows no signs of finding the consistency needed to punch a premium postseason ticket.

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