Northwestern’s Shurna still not cleared to play

Seven seasons ago, Northwestern guard Evan Seacat suffered a concussion when he blindly sprinted into a pick set by Penn State 7-footer Jan Jagla.

Seacat missed the Wildcats’ next six games, but that didn’t represent the end of his concussion-related woes.

“He was really never the same for, like, a year-and-a-half,” said Northwestern coach Bill Carmody. “It’s pretty serious stuff.”

While no two concussions are the same, Seacat’s example suggests NU junior forward John Shurna won’t be available for today’s 5 p.m. game against top-ranked Ohio State.

Shurna, who suffered a concussion in Wednesday’s game at Minnesota when he smashed face first into the basket stanchion, did not receive medical clearance Friday.

Carmody termed Shurna’s situation to be a “game-time decision.”

The Glenbard West product sat and watched Northwestern’s practice Friday — his chin apparently swollen and his sprained left ankle still in a walking boot — in hopes he’ll pass a concussion test this morning.

“I’m not sure if it’s NCAA or just Big Ten or Northwestern but they’re pretty conservative about it,” Carmody said. “In a good way. Everyone takes a baseline test at the beginning of the year. And if they’re symptom-free, basically, then they give them a chance to take it again.

“We’ll see. I really don’t know. I’m hoping. I don’t know. I think he’s improved. That’s all they said to me.”

Regardless of whether NU’s leading scorer (19.0 ppg) gets to play, the Wildcats aren’t planning to score a ton of points against the Buckeyes.

While OSU and NU are the Big Ten’s top two scoring teams, Carmody doesn’t envision a high-octane game as the way to go.

With freshman center Jared Sullinger (18.7 ppg, 10.0 rpg) earning outsized attention in the post, the Buckeyes are shooting 46 percent on 3-pointers in league play and 49 percent overall.

“If there’s an answer (to their balance), somebody else in the first 18 games would have figured it out, probably,” Carmody said. “If it gets in the 80s, you lose ... if it’s 75, you lose. It probably has to be in the 60s.”

When Shurna sat out NU’s win over SIU-Edwardsville on Jan. 20, senior forward Mike Capocci earned the start. If Shurna can’t go today, then Capocci should get first call again.

But the Wildcats’ need to replace some of Shurna’s points could bring sophomore guard Alex Marcotullio, junior guard Nick Fruendt and sophomore walk-on Reggie Hearn into the mix as well.

“Reggie Hearn’s been playing really well for 2½ weeks,” Carmody said. “He played really well (Thursday) in practice.”

Meanwhile, NU junior center Luka Mirkovic planned an extensive Friday night video session for clues to slowing Sullinger.

“He’s human,” Mirkovic said. “He’s made up of blood and flesh. It’s going to be fun, to be honest. I’m really excited for tomorrow.”

Ÿ Follow Lindsey Willhite’s college reports on Twitter@WillhiteHerald, and check out his Joe Sports blog at dailyherald.com.