Last season seems distant as Northwestern loses to Penn State
Everything went right for Northwestern last season. For the first time in the school’s history, they made the NCAA tournament and you know what the cool thing was? Bryant McIntosh, Scottie Lindsey and Vic Law were all returning.
They were being heralded as the team that changed things for Northwestern and, in many ways they were. But as time ticked off on their season, one can’t help but to ask why this Cats team wasn’t able to, at the very least, contend for a tournament birth? Instead, they will be going home a shell of what they were just a season ago.
Tonight’s 65-57 loss to Penn St. was a snapshot of the season. They can’t get stops when the need them. The offense bogs down and small deficits grow into insurmountable leads.
“I think they came down then and Carr hit a big three, long three, late in the clock. It was still a four-point game. When he hit that three to get it to seven and we didn’t come down and we didn’t score, that’s when I noticed our guys, the wind in our sails start to go a little bit.” said Coach Chris Collins
“A bit” equaled the competitive portion of the game being over and Northwestern heading home.
Northwestern’s inability to duplicate last season started well before tonight. Earlier this season, Bryant McIntosh was asked about their dip in play and he shed some light on where they were mentally.
“We thought it was going to be a lot easier. It’s been a really tough season. I’m disappointed in how we handled it. It hurts. There’s definitely a lot of regret.”
It’s hard to handle praise when you’ve never had it. As tough as it is for teams like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and other blue-bloods to stay on top, it’s just as tough when a team with no history of winning, wins. Every school, coach, and player handles the constant pat on the back differently but Northwestern isn’t the first team to struggle with this.
At Maryland, they had a recruiting class and took the Terps to two Final Fours and won a National Championship but, slowly but surely, they Terps went back to what they had been. A team that was solid. A team that could give Duke and North Carolina fits. But they haven’t gotten back to that level even with the uptick in recruiting classes.
So where does Northwestern go now? With McIntosh and Lindsey graduating, does Chris Collins have to foundation to get back to where they were last season or will the fade back to what they were before? A healthy Vic Law and Derek Pardon is a solid start in the right direction.
But no matter what the future holds, Northwestern coaches, players, and fans will always have last season.
“I told these guys in the locker room what they’ve accomplished over a four-year period is incredible. I mean, back-to-back 20-win seasons, getting to the Big Ten semifinals last year and the tournament, going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 70-whatever years, winning an NCAA Tournament game.” – Coach Collins
