Moore's free throws lift Northwestern over Wisconsin

Most of the Northwestern Wildcats couldn't shoot straight from the free throw line on Saturday night. Craig Moore was there to straighten things out for his teammates, and as a result, a downtrodden program just came a little bit closer to securing a postseason tournament bid.
 
No, Northwestern isn't in line for the NCAA Tournament, but the NIT is looking like a distinct possibility after a 66-63 win over Wisconsin. Powered by this breakthrough against the Badgers, Coach Bill Carmody's team has now won four of its last five Big Ten games to move to 12-7 on the season. Given the league's high RPI rating, a seventh- or eighth-place finish should translate into a postseason berth, which doesn't grow on trees in Evanston... not in the winter, and not at any time in the life of this academic powerhouse. For once, NU's hardwood heroes are flexing their muscles, and every Wildcat can only hope that this feel-good run will continue.

If Craig Moore has the ball in the final minute of a close game, Northwestern will indeed continue its northward march in the Big Ten standings. The guard bailed out his buddies at Welsh-Ryan Arena by excelling at the free throw line. While his teammates went 10-for-20 from the charity stripe, Moore hit all eight of his free throws, and six in the final minute of regulation, to keep the Badgers at bay in a razor-close encounter. With every possession precious and points coming at a premium, Moore rose above the moment to prevent the Wildcats from losing another game at the foul line.
 
On January 15 against Purdue, Northwestern outplayed the Boilermakers but hit just 6-of-12 free throws in the game's last several minutes. The points the Wildcats left at the line came back to haunt them, as a late Purdue rally put NU on the short side of a 63-61 heartbreaker. After that stomach-punch setback, the Purple People stood at 0-4 in the conference. It would have been so easy to fold the tent at the time, but in the past two and a half weeks, the outlook of the program has changed considerably, and it's been Craig Moore who has led Northwestern's resurgence more than anyone else.

 

 
Beyond the ice-veins free throw shooting he provided against Wisconsin, Moore--who easily led all scorers with 26 points--managed to free himself up for 3-point shots while forcing the Badgers' defense to extend more than it would have liked. By drawing attention to himself with his superb shooting, Moore loosened up Bo Ryan's boys just enough to make a difference in this contest. Without Moore's marksmanship from the perimeter, Wildcat forward Kevin Coble wouldn't have been able to score a reverse layup off a backdoor cut to give the home team a 56-55 lead with 2:26 left. Without Moore's overall excellence, fellow guard Jeremy Nash wouldn't have been able to slash to the basket and beat UW's Marcus Landry for a huge layup that gave Northwestern a 60-57 lead with 28 seconds left.
 
Yes, Moore maxed out at the foul line and thwarted Bo Ryan's endgame strategy, but the hero of Saturday's showdown made his team better even when he wasn't scoring. That's the kind of impact that wins close games, and that's the kind of player who can take a program like Northwestern and lift it to the postseason. As long as Craig Moore maintains a high level of play, the winning Wildcats will play basketball after the Big Ten Tournament is over.

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