It’s fair to say that tonight’s headliner game was the women’s basketball showdown against Michigan and their hotheaded head coach. Northwestern pulled away early, as expected, for a 98-55 blowout against the three-year-old Division I SIU-Edwardsville Cougars. The biggest highlight was probably the missing presence of No. 24, as Carmody chose to rest junior John Shurna and his persistently injured left ankle.
Hero of the Game | Coach Bill Carmody
Kudos to head coach Bill Carmody for holding out injured star forward John Shurna for the night, giving him an extended break until the showdown against Wisconsin on Sunday. But don’t applaud just yet –- Carmody would have been reviled had he played Shurna at all. The charitable distribution of playing time also spelled the remaining starters, Juice Thompson, Luka Mirkovic, Drew Crawford and JerShon Cobb a need break and gave the reserves valuable experience. Mirkovic was probably the biggest beneficiary of this tactic; upcoming matches against Big Ten centers won’t be as easy as they’ve been so far, and Davide Curletti won’t always be up for the task should Mirkovic be out of those games.
Stat of the Game | 5
Like clockwork, the Wildcats always surrender more points in the second half than in the first, but giving up an extra five points in the second half for 30 points should be a small differential that Northwestern can live with. Were it not for the Cougars’ perfect 10-for-10 from the line after intermission, this very well could have been the first time in a while that Northwestern has given up more points in the first half than the second.
Turning Point of the Game | 18-0 run in 5:04
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here; Northwestern was never going to be in a dogfight tonight, but the obligatory huge run that essentially quashes a team’s upset hopes came late in the first half. Up by 17, the Cougars’ Cornelius Chatt scored on his own miss to pull his team within 15 of the ‘Cats. On NU’s next possession, Cobb took a pass from Curletti and kick-started an eventual 18-0 run that would stretch the lead to 33 points. The Cougars spoiled that bit of fun by draining a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer, though.
What to Improve On | Upset Attitude
Up to this point in the season, Northwestern has won every single game it should have, and lost every one in which it came in as the underdog. Were it not for a huge run of success by St. John’s, which has an RPI of 14 and is making noise in the ultra-competitive Big East, Northwestern would be sitting right outside on the precipice of the tourney bubble, looking for a signature win.
Our next four opponents are Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota and Illinois, with Minnesota being the only away game. Northwestern won’t be favored to win any of these games, but save for a mental coma against Illinois earlier in the year and the St. John’s debacle, the Wildcats have been close in pulling off upsets, notably against Purdue and Michigan State. To bring the ‘Cats back into the NCAA discussion, Northwestern will have to pull off multiple upsets down the stretch, and this upcoming run is perfect for that feat.