Wisconsin vs Northwestern Basketball Recap

Wisconsin 60, Northwestern 50

The Northwestern Wildcats are attempting to make the first NCAA Tournament in the 71-season history of the event. After a very difficult Wednesday night in Evanston, Ill., the chances of a history-making moment are becoming increasingly remote.

The Purple People had a big opportunity to register a quality win on home hardwood at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Wisconsin brought a No. 16 national ranking to the state of Illinois for a crucial collision with Bill Carmody's Cats. Last year, Northwestern made a push for the Big Dance by knocking off the Badgers at home, and NU needed the same ingredient this season to feel good about its postseason prospects. With Wisconsin big man Jon Leuer out of the lineup due to a broken left wrist suffered in a win last Saturday against Purdue. Since Northwestern is without star forward Kevin Coble for the season, along with complementary player Jeff Ryan, the Leuer injury leveled the playing field and gave the Cats their big opening. This was the kind of contest that needed to be plucked if a luckless basketball program was to hear its name called on Selection Sunday.

After losing by 10 to Bo Ryan's bruising and ballsy Badgers, that glittering goal of a Big Dance ticket is steadily drifting into the gloaming. Two months of basketball remain on the calendar (including the Big Ten Tournament), but if Northwestern can't find a measure of consistency soon, the NIT will be the best Carmody's kids can hope for.

While UW guard Trevon Hughes - as is becoming commonplace in the 2009-10 campaign - carried the Badgers down the stretch in this contest, Northwestern's offense failed to meet the demands of the moment. Hughes, a street-tough ballhandler who craves the rock at crunch time, hit 4 of 5 3-pointers in the final seven minutes to break open a close game and affirm the Badgers' place as an upper-tier Big Ten team. Wisconsin proved - even without Leuer - that it knows how to handle the crucible of late-game situations, while Northwestern, admittedly hamstrung because of the Coble and Ryan injuries, is still in search of reliable performers in a game's most meaningful occasions.

To illustrate the fuller dimensions of this missed opportunity for Northwestern, consider the fact that - in addition to missing Mr. Leuer - the Badgers failed to hit a single field goal attempt in a stretch of eight minutes and two seconds midway through the second half. From the 14:57 mark to the 6:55 mark of regulation time, no Badger tickled the twine except on a few rare free throws. Wisconsin tallied just three points in that stretch, which began with the Badgers owning a scant 36-35 edge. Such a pronounced drought offered Northwestern a portal to a substantial lead, but instead, an equally hamstrung Wildcat offense could manage just five three throws and a layup, good for a grand total of seven points. When Hughes hit the first of his four late threes with 6:55 left, the game was tied at 42-apiece. The Badgers found their form and footing down the stretch, and as a result, NU was through.

It's too early to give up on the season, but it's not too early to realize that Northwestern - probably a tournament team with Coble and an even better club with Ryan also on the active roster - is simply not equipped with the resources it needs to finish in the top six in the Big Ten. Perhaps NU will get seventh place ahead of Indiana, Michigan, Penn State and Iowa, but if that happens, the Wildcats will need some special scalps, and a big chance for one just evaporated into the Evanston evening.

America is rooting for Northwestern basketball to succeed, but wishing and hoping won't get NU to the Big Show. The Cats have to find new answers if they want to make a little magic in the world of college hoops.

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