Northwestern University Athletics
Drew's Views
2/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2010
Hello Wildcat Fans!
This last week was bittersweet. We lost on the road to Iowa on Wednesday, but we beat Minnesota Sunday afternoon at home. We are entering the final third of the Big Ten season, and with tournament hopes still alive we need to play with a sense of urgency each night. Against Iowa last week we didn't bring the energy we needed to win the game. They took a lead early and maintained it for the rest of the game. Our defense was poor and they beat us to too many rebounds. Knowing that we're on the border of the NCAA tournament selections, that loss was a painful one. It was a quiet drive back after the game, and the next couple of days we hung our heads in reflection of how poorly we played.
Each day leading up to the Minnesota game, I thought about our seniors, Jeremy Nash and Matt Steger, and how this year is their last opportunity to make Northwestern history. After watching film as a team this past Saturday, Matt addressed the entire team, encouraging us to keep our hopes alive and keep our focus on our ultimate goal. Jeremy called me the day after the Iowa game telling me not to hang my head and to move on from the loss. The senior leadership, love for the team, and desire to win that Matt and Jeremy show encourage us to finish this season strong and make it memorable for them.
The words of wisdom from our senior leaders, as well as the persistence and motivation from the coaching staff helped us pull out a win against Minnesota. Although we are focused on what we do as a team, Sunday's game was especially important considering we are neck-and-neck with Minnesota in the Big Ten standings. At the end of the year it might come down to them or us to make the tournament, so going into the game we knew it was a must-win. In the first half we played rather poorly, and at halftime we trailed by eight. Early in the second half we improved defensively, but we weren't producing on the offensive end. We were down 13 with eight minutes left, but we went on a 20-4 run to finish the game. Although they were able to force the game into overtime, we continued to score and get defensive stops to close it out.
This game shows the determination we have as a team this year. Being down 13 points with less than a quarter of the game to be played is a bleak situation, but we stayed confident and finished the game playing Northwestern Basketball. Coming up, we play Penn State at home on Wednesday, Feb. 17 and at Wisconsin on Sunday the 21st.
Coach Carmody refers to this period of the season as the period in which teams become mentally and physically drained. However, all of us, including Coach, believe that our team's focus and determination keep us motivated. We aren't tired, physically or mentally, because we know that this is an extremely important part of the season for us. There is no room for error, so we must ignore our nagging aches and mental fatigue to finish the season in the way we are capable of.
Around campus students are coming up to us asking, "Are we going to the tournament this year?" Everyone in the Northwestern community is eager for us to make history, and the support from our fans and followers motivates us every time we step on the court. Now is not the time to let up and cruise towards the finish, but it is the time when we come together as a team and as a family to achieve our goal. See you all on Wednesday!
Until next time!
