The win total continues to rise and the records continue to fall for Northwestern.
Last night, the Wildcats downed Indiana, 68-55, to notch their sixth Big Ten win in a row for the first time since the Great Depression, 1932-33. That earned them a No. 25 national ranking in the AP poll, the latest appearance in a season for a Northwestern team since 1955. That came one game after the Wildcats' first five-game conference streak since 1965-66 and two games after they beat Ohio State in Columbus for the first time since 1977.
Every game, it seems, is a new "first since," and now the time span goes back eight decades.
At 18-4 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten, Northwestern appears to be three wins from the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth and slaying the dragon perched on its shoulder since 1939, the first year of the Big Dance (which was held, in an irony worthy of O. Henry, at NU's old Patten Gymnasium).
The Wildcats could finish 3-6 in the second half of the conference schedule and still get a ticket to the ball at this point. Chief Bracketologist Joe Lunardi of ESPN thinks it's all but a foregone concision and CBSSports.com went out on a limb and called them a lock on Monday.
But while everyone is focused on the NCAA Tournament, shouldn't the Wildcats set their sights a bit higher now? The team will continue to take things one game at a time, of course, but should the fan base start thinking about the possibility of a Big Ten championship?
Think about it. Though far less publicized, the drought since Northwestern's last Big Ten title is actually longer than its stretch without getting to the NCAAs. The Wildcats last wore the conference crown in 1932-33, six years before the inaugural tournament was even played. Plus, there’s no question that a Big Ten title would also guarantee an NCAA bid along with it.
And make no mistake, the Big Ten is there for the taking this season. The Wildcats are currently alone in third place at the halfway point of the conference schedule, just a half-game behind co-leaders Maryland and Wisconsin, who are both 7-1. Northwestern has yet to play either school and will get its shot at both of them back-to-back in a couple weeks.
Yes, Northwestern's schedule gets rougher down the stretch. In addition to the matchups with the Big Ten leaders, it features two games against both Purdue and Illinois, and single contests against Rutgers, Indiana and Michigan.
But in this new, anything-goes Big Ten, where everyone beats everyone else, there's no telling what can happen game to game. Maryland’s lone conference loss is to Nebraska, a team the Wildcats have already beaten twice. Wisconsin’s only setback came at Purdue, which lost on Sunday night to – you guessed it – Nebraska. The Huskers, in fact, just lost to bottom dweller Rutgers and then beat then third-place Purdue in consecutive games. Go figure.
Purdue, now one game behind Northwestern at 6-3, may be the most difficult matchup for the Wildcats with twin towers Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas. But two of the Boilers’ three losses were to the aforementioned Nebraska and Iowa, which the Wildcats blew out of the snake pit that is now Welsh-Ryan Arena by 35 points.
It's difficult to decipher what all that means in terms of NU's chances to capture a league title for the first time in 84 years, but one thing is for certain: Northwestern can beat any team left on its schedule. And lose to any one too.
There’s no heavyweight to fear in the Big Ten this season, just a mass of cruiserweights that all pack a knockout punch capable of decking any other opponent on any given night. Whether that’s parity or weakness is for experts to decide.
Northwestern is as hot as anyone right now; the Wildcats six-game winning streak matches Maryland’s for the longest in the conference. NU has gone almost a month – since Jan. 5 – without losing a game.
Maybe the most impressive aspect of the Wildcats’ historic streak is that they haven’t always been at their best, save for the Iowa game when they were clicking on all cylinders in an epic rout. They weren’t particularly sharp in road wins over Rutgers and Ohio State, and had ugly stretches against Nebraska and Indiana.
But each time, the Wildcats found a way to win. That's what good teams – tournament teams – do.
Players have had their share of ups and downs, too, especially on the offensive end, but each time another player was there to pick up the slack. Look at the last two games as examples. Against Nebraska, Scottie Lindsey and Bryant McIntosh combined to shoot 5 for 21 from the floor, but Dererk Pardon exploded for 19 points and 22 rebounds and Vic Law netted 20 points. Then, against Indiana, Pardon didn’t score a point due to foul trouble and Law struggled, going 2 for 12; but McIntosh dominated with 21 points and 8 assists, Sanjay Lumpkin surprised with 15 and Lindsey added 12.
Besides, when a team plays defense like Northwestern, it can win any game. The Wildcats are tops in the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense (38.3 percent) and 3-point percentage defense (30.7), and second in scoring defense (63.7 points per game) and blocked shots (6.2 per game). They also take care of the basketball, with the No. 1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference (1.6).
“We know that sometimes we won't shoot the ball well, but our defense will always be there, game in and game out,” said Lumpkin after Sunday night's game.
The Wildcats’ next four games will determine whether they have a legitimate shot at their first Big Ten championship since Herbert Hoover was in the White House. They play at Purdue on Wednesday, host Illinois on Feb. 7, and then play the co-leaders: at Wisconsin on Feb. 12 and home against Maryland on Feb. 15.
If the Wildcats take three (or more) of those four, thoughts of an NCAA bid should take a backseat to a run at the championship.
