Northwestern on verge of ending NCAA tournament drought

A few months ago, the Cubs ended the longest drought in American professional sports.

So now the pressure is on Northwestern to end the longest dry spell in men's college basketball, as the only major-conference team to never qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Or maybe the pressure's off? The Cubs proved anything is possible, right?

“Isn't that the Cubs motto, ‘Why Not Us?' We've kind of taken that on,” junior guard Bryant McIntosh said. “That's not something we're afraid of.

“We can't put all the pressure on us that we've failed for 80 years. All it takes is one year. I think we believe this is the best team that's ever been here. So why not?”

The fact is, Northwestern is well on its way to ending the tournament lockout, probably close enough to establish some magic numbers.

With an 18-5 record overall and 7-3 in the Big Ten, a 3-5 finish in the regular season should be enough to get the Wildcats in. A winning record in the Big Ten usually gets it done.

If Northwestern can go 4-4 the rest of the way and finish at least 11-7 in conference, it will be a done deal. No sweating out Selection Sunday.

The job isn't done yet, though. NU had a six-game win streak snapped at Purdue last week and top scorer Scottie Lindsey will miss his second straight game with an injury when the Wildcats host Illinois on Tuesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

“We'll get what we deserve at the end of the season,” said fourth-year coach Chris Collins. “We've tried to find motivation with each game and I think that's been a good way for this team to kind of eliminate that outside chatter.

“And it's a fine line because I want these guys to enjoy what they're doing. … But then you can't let that be their whole focus because you get distracted really easily.”

So how did this team become potentially be the best in school history and on the verge of smashing another Chicago run of sports futility?

One point is obvious: These Wildcats are really good at defense.

Northwestern leads the Big Ten and ranks 11th nationally in defensive field-goal percentage, forcing opponents to shoot 38.7 percent overall this season.

The Wildcats are second in the Big Ten, behind Wisconsin, in points allowed at 64.4 per game.

Personnel has plenty to do with that.

McIntosh swears junior forward Vic Law should be the Big Ten's defensive player of the year. Sophomore forward Dererk Pardon gives the Cats a solid rim protector. He ranks second in the league in blocks with 2.6 per game during the conference season.

And, of course, Collins moved to Evanston after a long run as a Duke assistant. So a few floor-slapping lessons should be enough to turn the Cats into ferocious defensive stoppers.

Well, not really.

“At Duke, we were very much a pressure defensive team,” Collins said. “We pressured the ball, we got in passing lanes. We don't do that as much, just because our personnel doesn't lend itself.

“We're more in the gaps, help defense, get the ball in certain areas and try to help each other out.”

Collins believes defense is a test of whether or not a team is together. The Wildcats don't force a lot of turnovers, so defensive fundamentals play a large part in the success.

Another reason for Northwestern's rise is simply the maturity of Collins' first full recruiting class. McIntosh, Law, Lindsey and forward Gavin Skelly are in their third seasons.

This hasn't been a smooth rise, though.

Law, a St. Rita High School product, missed all of last season with a torn labrum. Lindsey, from Fenwick, started just three games last season and averaged 6.4 points, well below his current 15.4. McIntosh, from Greensburg, Indiana, had some ups and downs, but now leads the Big Ten in both assists and free-throw percentage.

Collins felt confident Law would come back from the injury with an added hunger. Lindsey's improvement wasn't a given.

“Scottie, it's been well-documented, he was at a real crossroads at the end of last season,” Collins said. “He was very inconsistent. We had some tough meetings at the end of last year, with his parents, with him.

“We wanted to get this right, because we knew what he was capable of and he had an unbelievable off-season, which kind of set the stage for what he's been doing this year.”

Now as the wins pile up and an elusive prize is within reach, McIntosh can admit this is what the juniors had in mind when they committed to Northwestern.

“That was our goal together and with coach, to establish something that's never been done,” McIntosh said. “Make it a respectable program that's good each and every year, where you're not talking about this is the first time making the NCAA Tournament, you're talking about, ‘How deep are they going to go in the tournament.'”

Cats get the stops

Big Ten leaders, points allowed

1. Wisconsin 60.4

2. Northwestern 65.6

3. Michigan St. 67.1

Big Ten leaders, defensive FG percentage

1. Northwestern .399

2. Maryland .403

3. Wisconsin .406

Conference games only

Source: Bigten.org