It don't get no worse
i'll make the argument that this was the worst loss during Bill Carmody's tenure at Northwestern. i'm only considering home losses, since winning on the road can be difficult, regardless of the opponent. there were some weak non-conference teams that won in Welsh-Ryan earlier this decade (IUPUI, UIC, Mississippi Valley State, Cornell, Brown) but if you check the numbers, each of those teams actually finished that season with a decent record.
certainly NU's offensive ineptitude against PSU in the conference tournament four years ago comes to mind. and technically the game wasn't meaningless, as a win would have earned them postseason eligibility. (my god, look at that box score. Bernard Cote started and Evan Seacat got 23 minutes!)
but i think last night takes the cake. i never thought that Penn State would go winless in the conference, but after looking at the numbers, they're worse than i realized. before last night PSU had more RPI 200+ losses (Indiana, UNCW, Tulane) than top 150 wins (@ Virgina in November). only twice this season (Gardner-Webb & Sacred Heart) had Penn State scored more than 80 points, and only against Michigan State had NU allowed 80 points in regulation.
as others have pointed out, Penn State was able to take advantage of the 1-3-1. Carmody recognized that, but since that's basically the only defense NU knows how to play, not much could be done about it. i really think the defensive problems stem from this being a very tired team. i talked about it last month, but the lack of depth was going to catch up with this team eventually.
this was a terrible loss not only because it was a terrible opponent; this game meant something. there is no question that Northwestern's at-large chances took a major, major hit with the L at Iowa. but according to at least some, NU wasn't entirely dead. they are now. not even a win at Wisconsin matters - this team will have to win the conference tournament to get in the dance. the Wildcats still have a shot to finish 6th in the conference, which would match them up with Penn State in the first round but then with the first-place finisher after that.
a video on NUsports.com this week encourages fans to watch Northwestern "make history" at W-R Arena. the only history to be witnessed on Wednesday night was another episode in the epic failure that is Northwestern University basketball.
certainly NU's offensive ineptitude against PSU in the conference tournament four years ago comes to mind. and technically the game wasn't meaningless, as a win would have earned them postseason eligibility. (my god, look at that box score. Bernard Cote started and Evan Seacat got 23 minutes!)
but i think last night takes the cake. i never thought that Penn State would go winless in the conference, but after looking at the numbers, they're worse than i realized. before last night PSU had more RPI 200+ losses (Indiana, UNCW, Tulane) than top 150 wins (@ Virgina in November). only twice this season (Gardner-Webb & Sacred Heart) had Penn State scored more than 80 points, and only against Michigan State had NU allowed 80 points in regulation.
as others have pointed out, Penn State was able to take advantage of the 1-3-1. Carmody recognized that, but since that's basically the only defense NU knows how to play, not much could be done about it. i really think the defensive problems stem from this being a very tired team. i talked about it last month, but the lack of depth was going to catch up with this team eventually.
this was a terrible loss not only because it was a terrible opponent; this game meant something. there is no question that Northwestern's at-large chances took a major, major hit with the L at Iowa. but according to at least some, NU wasn't entirely dead. they are now. not even a win at Wisconsin matters - this team will have to win the conference tournament to get in the dance. the Wildcats still have a shot to finish 6th in the conference, which would match them up with Penn State in the first round but then with the first-place finisher after that.
a video on NUsports.com this week encourages fans to watch Northwestern "make history" at W-R Arena. the only history to be witnessed on Wednesday night was another episode in the epic failure that is Northwestern University basketball.
posted by Fire Bill Carmody at
7:59 AM
4 Comments:
To be fair, NU also played a lot of man-to-man and/or matchup zone. Neither of those worked either. I hate the 1-3-1, but let's be fair.
I agree with that sentiment about this being the worst loss in the Carmody era. I don't think we've ever lost to the league's bottom feeder. Although, part of that is because WE were the league's bottom feeder for so many years.
Note: I'm one of Carmody's biggest supporters. Now that recruiting is starting to pick up, we're going to get to the tournament. It's just a matter of when.
The "when" is after Carmody is fired. Or after the tourney expands to 96 teams.
I would disagree with that. I'm betting that we get to the tournament next season. Everyone's back except Nash, and we add Coble, Cobb, Ryan, and possibly a great backup point guard (rated as a 90 according to ESPN). That team could be Elite Eight caliber. I'm not joking. However, if we don't I may come over to your side and start calling for Carmody's firing.
Elite Eight is going too far I think, I don't see any way that roster can be a top 10 team. Best case is in the #15 to #25 I'd say, and that's with no injuries, Coble returning to form, Cobb being as good as advertised, Mirkovic and/or Rowley getting a lot better, and most importantly the defense dramatically improving despite the loss of their best defensive player. So in short, don't bet on it.
I'd say the most likely scenario is being on the bubble all season, maybe a top 25 appearance again early in the season if next year's non-conference schedule is as fraudulent as this year's was.
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