Another week of basketball, another week of questions left unanswered. How much did the wins over Michigan and Indiana really mean? The Wildcats did hold Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims, two of the Big Ten’s top six scorers, to a combined 15 points. Against Indiana, the ‘Cats spread the wealth as their entire starting lineup reached double figures in points. John Shurna played an essentially flawless game solely out on the perimeter, going 5-8 from downtown en route to 16 points. A physical Jeremy Nash grabbed 10 boards despite being in foul trouble for most of the game due to questionable calls, proving that he could be a threat on the boards and posting his second consecutive game of double-digit rebounds. Even Kyle Rowley, who I love to poke fun at, had moments where he looked like the physical defensive presence I hope he will one day become, whipping the crowd into a “Kyle Rowley” chant after an incredibly physical defensive stand. Continue reading →

Super Bowl Sunday always throws a kink into the intramural basketball season, and 2010 is no exception. No games after 5 PM on Sunday due to kickoff means that a handful of White and Co-rec teams are on a bye, and the entire Purple league is taking the week off. That said, there’s still plenty to talk about, and plenty of rankings to re-evaluate. We’ve added last week’s scores into the rankings, so that all your info is now in one place. Of course, if you’re fiendin’ for more, head over to the NUIM site to find the mathematical power rankings. Continue reading →

It was a ho-hum signing day for Northwestern, relative to what you might have seen around the country on ESPN. Starting at 6am, recruits faxed in their signed letters of intent to play for the ‘Cats, and by noon all 17 had been collected. There were no last minute commitments or de-commitments, and no high school senior was surrounded with cameras deciding whether or not to put on a Northwestern hat.

Northwestern did not sign a 4-star player like they did last year with offensive lineman Patrick Ward, and they didn’t get many commits from the state of Illinois like they did in 2008 (only one this year, defensive lineman Chance Carter—from Evanston).

ESPN Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg ranked NU’s class as the 8th best in the Big Ten. Rivals.com ranked them 9th in the conference and 77th in the country (Auburn, who beat the ‘Cats in the Outback Bowl had a class ranked 4th). Continue reading →

Recap:
Freshman Drew Crawford scored 17 points as the Wildcats bounced back from a two-game losing streak to defeat Michigan 67-52 at Welsh-Ryan Arena Tuesday night. NU jumped out to a five point lead at halftime after hitting five consecutive three-pointers late in the first half. The real story, however, was the defense. The Cats held the Wolverines to just 22 points and six field goals in the second half, paving the way to an easy victory. With the win, NU moves to 15-7 (4-6 Big Ten) and, more importantly, keeps their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Continue reading →

The time for cautious optimism is over. After watching the Wildcats almost destroy their tournament hopes against Texas-Pan American, I declared the worst to be over. After the disaster in Columbus, I took solace in the win over Illinois. But now, with 10 games left until Selection Sunday, it’s time to face reality: If Northwestern wants to appear on an tournament bracket for the first time in school history, they are going to have to step it up—and fast. Continue reading →

Week three of intramural basketball has arrived, and that means no more double-rostering hi-jinks and rule clarification shenanigans. With the meat of the schedule at hand, it’s time to bust out the first rankings for this season. So while your squad might be tops according to the power ranking formula on the NUIM web site, numbers can only say so much. The best example is the Deep Friars, #1-ranked in the white league as of this week, and impressive numbers to boot. But the Friars have yet to play a team with a win, or with a ranking above 70th. Continue reading →