After making the NCAA Tournament last season, expectations were high for Northwestern basketball this year. How have they struggled so far?
Northwestern is led by Scottie Lindsey and Vic Law. Bryant McIntosh is the point guard for the Wildcats, and while he may be the team leader, opposing defenses are going to game plan for Lindsey and Law as the lead guys. These two are the players who can carry a team by themselves when things are going well. Lindsey is more of a threat from beyond the arc whereas Law can score from seemingly anywhere on the court.
In McIntosh, Northwestern has a lead guard who is a great floor general and team leader. McIntosh is a decent scorer, but Northwestern seems to be playing their best basketball when he is not relied upon to pick up the bulk of the scoring. When he is able to distribute and take care of the ball as well as score, Northwestern can be deadly.
Northwestern did make the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time in program history. In the preseason, many were expecting the Wildcats to finish near the top of the Big Ten and possibly compete with teams like Minnesota, Purdue, and Michigan State for the conference title.
While the above may have been true at the start of the season, Northwestern has looked anything but the dominant force they were at points last year. The Wildcats have struggled since their first game of the year. The team has had a lot of trouble scoring and seem too reliant on Lindsey and Law to score them all of their points.
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In addition, it seems like the perception change of Northwestern has impacted their play. The Wildcats have been so used to playing the role of the hunters in years past that being the hunted and getting every team’s best shot appears to have taken its toll on this team already in the early going. Another reason for the disappointments so far that should not go overlooked is the fact that Northwestern very well may have overachieved last season.
Northwestern overachieved out of necessity last year. Each player all had to contribute just a little more to come up with big wins and that same determination has not been on display this year. Lindsey is still scoring but McIntosh seems to go into stretches where he has trouble scoring, rebounding, and taking care of the ball. When Law gets the ball, Northwestern goes into hero-mode and keeps feeding Law regardless of the situation. This does not make a winning recipe.
Luckily for the Wildcat fans, the season is a mere month old. There is plenty of time to turn this season around and try and make a return trip to the Big Dance. Things will need to change, though. The Wildcats are going to have to get back to playing aggressive and without fear. Law and Lindsey could be one of the most dynamic 1-2 punches in the Big Ten if they play off of each other better. If Northwestern can find a way to start putting the ball in the basket and playing loose and relaxed, they will be just fine.
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Northwestern head coach Chris Collins is a confident coach who knows what he is doing. For Wildcat fans, it is important to have faith that everything will come out smelling like roses. In what looks to be a down year for the Big Ten on the whole, a return trip to the NCAA Tournament for Northwestern would be a success.