Northwestern tightens grip on likely NIT bid by topping Iowa

For a program that's never reached the NCAA Tournament, a spot in the NIT can't be frowned upon. That's the outlook these days at Northwestern, because the Wildcats--the victim of some stomach-punch losses earlier in the year--have regrouped to make themselves a near lock for the 32-team postseason tournament.

Saturday afternoon in Evanston, Northwestern rallied from a seven-point deficit to defeat Iowa, 55-49. The late charge gave the Wildcats a 16-11 overall record and a very respectable 7-9 mark in the league with just two games left in the regular season. Given the strength of the Big Ten, plus Northwestern's win against Florida State, it would be very hard to envision Coach Bill Carmody's club in the low-rent CBI, a tournament one notch below the NIT. Had NU lost, the Cats would have been just one game above Iowa in the conference standings, but this six-point triumph puts the purple people three games above the Hawkeyes, and only one game behind the multi-car pileup in the thick middle of the conference. Some wins shape perception more than others, and this win makes it easy to put Northwestern in a six-team middle tier of the Big Ten, separate from the bottom tier occupied by Iowa and Indiana. That's no small feat for a school that's struggled the way NU has.
 
Just how did the home team prevail in Welsh-Ryan Arena? The answer was pretty simple: three-point shooting. After going just 2-for-10 beyond the arc in the first half, the Wildcats--down 39-32 midway through the second half--rode the hot long-distance touch of Michael Thompson and Kevin Coble. Thompson hit three consecutive treys to lift NU to a 41-all tie, and Coble added a couple trifectas of his own to propel the Wildcats down the stretch. In a typically low-scoring Big Ten game, Northwestern was able to get more points per possession in the final few minutes, as the three-for-two tradeoffs with the Hawks allowed Carmody's kids to inch their way in front. After blowing home games against Purdue and Illinois--games that, if won, might have them in the NCAA Tourney discussion--it had to be sweet for Carmody and his coaching staff to see their roster display such pronounced poise under pressure.
 

Say this much about Northwestern: The Wildcats might have been unable to tuck away some of their more important games in 2009, but after each devastating defeat, this tenacious team has always gotten off the mat to fight with renewed determination. Many NU clubs folded the tent in the face of adversity. This assemblage in Evanston has been decidedly different, and that--in short--explains why an NIT bid is likely to be given to a program that's not so downtrodden anymore.

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