North by Northwestern sits down with NNN Sports analyst Henry Rosoff to discuss NU vs Illinois, round two in Champaign this past weekend and what that does for the Wildcats’ NIT hopes. Check out our Wildcast below.

Now, with just four games left until the Big Ten tournament, an NIT bid seems like more and more impossible by the day.

Illinois played Sunday’s game missing two players and fighting injuries on the entire roster.  They were uncharacteristic in their sloppiness and poor execution, throwing passes out of bounds or into the hands of Wildcat players.  Besides Rich McBride’s five three-pointers, the Illini showed little life.  On one memorable possession at the end of the first half, two Illini guards passed the ball back and forth for about 25 seconds before heaving a desperation three to end the half.  They were vulnerable, and good teams – or at least average ones – take advantage of these sorts of opportunities.

But the Wildcats managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory yet again.  Kevin Coble drained a three to take the lead just after halftime. For the rest of the game, the ‘Cats scored only 12 points.  There was no semblance of an offensive scheme during the entire game; on multiple possessions, the ‘Cats just dribbled the ball around the perimeter, making no cuts to the basket or strong picks to open up shots.  And when they did get shots, they missed many of them spectacularly.

The ‘Cats fell to 12-14 with the loss.  They must win three of their last four games and then one game in the Big Ten tournament to get a winning record.  That means they must beat Texas Pan-American on Wednesday night, and either sweep the home-and-home set coming up against Purdue or win one against the Boilermakers and then pull off an upset at Welsh-Ryan against a surging Indiana team.

In other words, I wouldn’t make plans to travel to any NIT games.

Jokes aside, this incident is truly a tragedy, and it’s yet another unfortunate blow to the Illini this year. Senior Rich McBride was arrested for driving under the influence in September, and he’ll appear in court on the charge March 1. Injuries have piled up; forward Warren Carter is questionable for Sunday’s game against the ‘Cats. Now Smith and Carlwell are out as well.

I’ll be attending Sunday’s game, and I’m excited and anxious to see what happens, especially with Friday’s announcement that Chief Illiniwek will be retired at the end of the season. Illinois fans are some of the most passionate fans in the country, and I’ll admit part of my dislike for them is rooted in envy. Most NU students will never understand the passion and unbridled emotion of a student body like the one at Illinois.

We can laugh at the Chief, jingle our keys and make all the cornfield jokes we want. (I’m as guilty of these things as anyone.) But Illinois fans – despite their supposedly low station as a “state school” – have something to teach us about devotion to our school.

It will be an important victory for the ‘Cats if they win, and they absolutely need this one to stay in the hunt for the NIT. But no Northwestern fan can take much happiness in beating a team in this condition.The game starts at 2:00 p.m. Sunday. Sidelines will have a re-cap and (maybe) photos from Sunday’s contest.

In honor of Prince, here’s a Super Bowl-themed track listing of Prince’s famous Purple Rain album. Each song is dedicated to a different player or event during yesterday’s game.

“Let’s Go Crazy“: To the rainy, unpredictable Miami weather, which played a role in producing five fumbles between the two teams and had players slipping all over the field.

“Take Me with U“: To Colts cornerback Kelvin Hayden, who picked off an errant Rex Grossman pass for a Colts touchdown, taking with him all hopes of a Bears upset. Hayden, incidentally, grew up in Chicago and played for Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner at Illinois.

“The Beautiful Ones”: To the Colts cheerleaders. Yes, I know the Bears don’t have cheerleaders out of tradition, but maybe that needs to change.

“Computer Blue“: To Colts QB Peyton Manning, who dissected the Bears ‘D’ with ruthless, emotionless precision. Ironically, Peyton has finally shed the “emotionless” and “boring” labels that have dogged him for years with this victory.

“Darling Nikki“: This song inspired Tipper Gore to push for stronger government controls over explicit music (you know, the “Parental Advisory” labels on CD’s). That’s why I’m giving this one to Grossman’s criminally bad throwing mechanics. I just hope all the innocent children out there missed some of his more errant throws.

“When Doves Cry“: To Devin “Any Time” Hester, not just for his ridiculous return, but for what must have been a disappointing return to the city where he became a college superstar. The Colts took him out of the game by shanking kickoffs and banking on the Bears’ inability to take advantage of good field position.

“I Would Die 4 U“: This one’s tough. I’ll go with the entire Bears defense for fighting for 60 minutes and keeping Chicago in the game for as long as possible, especially against one of the best offenses ever and without two Pro Bowl starters.

“Baby I’m a Star”: To Colts RB Joseph Addai. The rookie ran the ball 19 times for 77 yards and picked up another 66 on 10 catches. Indy fans are probably asking, “Edgerrin who?”

“Purple Rain”: Aaah, the grand finale. This one goes out to all the long-suffering Bears fans out there. We gritted our teeth through every “Good Rex”/”Bad Rex” story, every poor defensive effort, every nail-biter…only to fall short at the very end. The good news, of course, is that this team is one piece away from making it to the top. Is Grossman the answer to the Bears’ woes? Will the Bears sign a free agent this off-season? Who knows. But for the rest of the NFL, the Bears aren’t going anywhere soon.

Two days after Tank was arrested, his bodyguard, Willie B. Posey, was shot and killed at the Ice Bar nightclub on Chicago’s North Side. In a story posted earlier today, however, ESPN made a tiny factual error. The screenshot, for posterity:

James Posey plays for the NBA’s Miami Heat. He’s one of my least favorite players, mainly due to his reputation as a dirty player and his assault of Bulls superstar-in-the-making Luol Deng. But he’s definitely not dead.

(This isn’t the first time NBN has taken issue with ESPN content.)

First, it was Wisconsin. Now, the latest heartbreak comes at the hands of Greg Oden (more on this in a bit) and the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes came into Welsh-Ryan Arena underestimating the ‘Cats, and rightfully so, after the 32-point drubbing we suffered in Columbus one week before. But they gave the ‘Cats a real chance in this one.

The ‘Cats had their chances. They led 20-11 in the first half and were one Kevin Coble three-pointer from tying it up with five minutes to go in the game. It ultimately comes down to two things: three-point shooting and interior play.

Against Wisconsin, Northwestern shot a pitiful 22 percent from the three-point line; last Wednesday against Ohio State, it was a respectable 35 percent, but only 4 for 14 after leading by nine. But the big factor was, and still is, the bigs. The heralded big men for both Wisconsin and Ohio State woke up in the second halves of each game and ran roughshod over Vince Scott and Tim Doyle.

This quote from Doyle about Oden, who scored 10 points over the last 10-plus minutes of the game, says it all. “I thought Vince played him as well as he could have. Oden’s going to be a pro, and Vince is going to be an investment banker.”

Northwestern has proven that it can hang close with any team in the Big Ten for 40 minutes. But making games close will only work for so long.

Meanwhile, check out this excellent slide show on Oden, the odds-on favorite to go first in the 2007 NBA draft.

To read Sidelines’ take on Saturday’s defeat, click here.

But something miraculous happened Saturday – the stuff you won’t read in the recap. To everyone’s shock, we scored the game’s first basket and held a lead. Then we took the lead into halftime, thanks to a 6-0 surge to close the first half.

And for the first time in my five quarters at NU, Welsh-Ryan Arena felt like an actual part of the Big Ten. The students were shouting themselves hoarse as I’ve never heard them before. The Wisconsin fans – who filled up about two-thirds of Welsh-Ryan – mostly had a mixture of confusion and ambivalence upon their faces. But everyone in the house agreed on one thing: there’s no way in hell Northwestern’s beating the #4 ranked team in the country.

Except another funny thing happened. The ‘Cats came out after halftime with a fight I’ve never seen from Carmody’s group. (Even Carmody’s pacing took a comically agitated form throughout the game.) Our energetic zone defense had one of the nation’s most experienced teams playing out of sync. We pulled out steals and drove to the hoop unafraid of Wisconsin’s bigs. We were unfazed by the jeers from the overwhelming crowd of Badger fans. We fought back and refused to give up after Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker threw down a highlight reel dunk over multiple NU players. We didn’t quit and we played with the raw emotion every Northwestern fan longs for.

But it was that raw emotion – and the team’s inability to control it – that doomed us in the end. The game changed with about seven minutes to go. Vince Scott got tangled up with Wisconsin’s Marcus Landry in the backcourt as we advanced the ball following a defensive rebound. Both fell to the ground and it appeared Landry grabbed and held down Scott as Vince tried to get up. Vince ended up shoving Landry back down and screamed at him. And the student section – long critical of Scott’s unwillingness to fight for rebounds in the paint and his affinity for the three – roared its approval.

As soon as play resumed, the Wisconsin contingent booed at the top of their voices whenever Vince Scott touched the ball. And you could see the effect this abuse had not on just Scott, but the entire team. Suddenly, our offense fell apart, which I suspect had something to do with Scott’s ineffectiveness. (To Carmody’s defense, putting Ivan Tolic in the game probably would only made matters worse.) Vince took two threes during the rest of the game – one air ball and one which Landry blocked with authority.

And in the end, the Badgers won. Alando Tucker pounded his chest and roared at least twice and Marcus Landry raised his hands in celebration, as the sea of red screamed its approval. Most of the student section stared at the court in disbelief. And Vince Scott hung his head and looked about ready to pull a Tony Romo. I really felt for the guy.

Sports – my truest passion and, sometimes, my one reason for living – have reduced me to tears once in my entire life. Any Cubs fan can tell you about that fateful day in October 2003 – I don’t even want to type the guy’s name. No, I didn’t cry after today’s game, but…man, it hurt. Every student at today’s game could sense the feeling of perhaps the biggest victory in our team’s history. You could taste it, imagine the feeling of true pride for once. For us to let that slip away just kills me.

I’m grateful for the best 35 minutes of basketball I’ve experienced in person – and I’ve been to Jordan-era Bulls games, k? (Not playoffs, admittedly.) I know I’m dreaming and I’m being idealistic, but I’ll say it anyway. To borrow from U2, I had found what I was looking for during the first 35 minutes while watching all those crappy games against Loyola (Md.) and Western Michigan, while listening to the ‘Cats lose Tennessee Tech on the radio during break, while hearing about the ‘Cats almost losing to Wheaton freakin’ College. For 35 minutes – no, for 40 actually – I found a group of students who cared about the Wildcats as much as I do. I found passion in a school where I thought none existed. But most importantly, I saw a group of guys on the floor who truly cared, who competed, and who stayed with one of the best teams in the nation.

But then again, who knows? Maybe all the things I’m looking for are still there. But it comes down to this. If the men’s basketball team hopes to win another game, it must follow a maxim of a coach who once patrolled the sidelines of Ryan Field, just steps from the basketball court. As the late Randy Walker would say, the team will have to respond. It’s as simple as that.

1. Temper your expectations for men’s basketball – that 10-3 record is pretty misleading.

Freshman Kevin Coble has started to emerge as the go-to scorer the team desperately needs. But Coble and the rest of this young squad hasn’t faced real competition on the road yet. The ‘Cats have shown flashes of greatness in games against Utah and Northwestern State.  Far too often, however, players have looked lost on the court.  The ‘Cats suffer from serious issues with rebounding, passing, and athleticism in general.  And Big Ten teams will exploit all these weaknesses time after time once conference play kicks off on Jan. 3 against Penn State. Pencil the team in for another four to five wins and, sadly, another narrow post-season miss.

2. For God’s sake, pay attention to women’s lacrosse.

They haven’t lost a home game since 2004. They return nine starters, including senior Kristen Kjellman, who won the Tewaaraton Trophy as the nation’s top women’s lacrosse player. And they’re going for their third straight NCAA title. Just remember March 9 – that’s when the team plays its first home game.

3. Clear your plans for Winter Break 2007 now – football’s going bowling!

Quarterback C.J. Bacher will have another year of time running the spread offense under his belt, and coach Pat Fitzgerald will only become a better game manager with more experience. Home games against Northeastern, Nevada, Duke, Indiana as well as games at Eastern Michigan, Purdue and Illinois make reaching a bowl game quite possible. (Check out the 2007 schedule here.) And oh yeah, that guy Tyrell is still around. The early prediction: seven to eight wins and a spot in a late December bowl game.

4. Start. Wearing. Purple.

I don’t care if you really wanted to get into an Ivy or if you grew up rooting for another school. Displaying rival colors at Northwestern games is unacceptable. Show some support for the ‘Cats and attend a few games. They’re free!

Have a great 2007 and of course, GO CATS!