Northwestern suffers another near miss

If teams could qualify for the NCAA Tournament based solely on heart and determination, Northwestern would be a shoo-in.

The Wildcats showed why again Wednesday night against visiting Ohio State when, despite being manhandled on the boards (44-18), despite falling behind early and trailing by double digits late, they hung in and never quit, coming a John Shurna 3-point attempt at the buzzer from upsetting the No. 10 Buckeyes.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the seeding committee likes to see wins — and big wins at that — and once again Northwestern came up just short when it absolutely needed a victory, falling 75-73 to Ohio State in front of a full house at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

“Northwestern was playing for their life,” said Jared Sullinger, who led all Buckeyes scorers with 22 points, including the game-winner on a short bank shot with 3.1 seconds left. “They came back and fought.”

“I hope Northwestern makes it to the tournament.

On a night it looked like they would have no chance, the Cats kept clawing and clawing and eventually got the lead down to 5 points. And then down to 3 with 46 seconds left.

And then Alex Marcotullio hit a 3-pointer from beyond downtown to tie the game, probably alarming local seismologists with all the shaking emanating from Evanston.

“Marcotullio made a big-time shot,” Sullinger said. “A big-time shot.”

And suddenly the improbable seemed somehow probable.

But the Cats had no answer for Sullinger, who took a pass from Aaron Craft and smartly banked it over a Northwestern defender with 3.1 left.

Shurna's desperation 3-pointer bounded off the front of the rim as the buzzer sounded.

“I thought it had a chance; put it up there and hoped for the best … that's all you can do,” said Shurna, who finished with 22 points. “It's kind of a tough way to go out.”

It was almost one of the most magical Senior Nights in Northwestern history.

So now if you're coach Bill Carmody, what in the world do you tell your team after a loss like that?

“That we've got a game Saturday,” Carmody said. “We have to go to Iowa and win on the road. We have to win that game.”

His troops are ready to go.

“We're real proud of our team,” said Drew Crawford, who the Wildcats with 23 points. “We're a resilient bunch. We'll be ready to go Saturday.”

They'll be facing an Iowa team that has been playing tough at home.

“I really like the way we came back,” Carmody said. “Different guys came through for us. There will be some good that comes out of this.”

If that's true, maybe Sullinger will get his Northwestern wish after all.