ESPN Men's Basketball

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Was it too much to ask?

Was it too much to hope that just one time -- this time -- would be Northwestern's turn as fate's chosen beneficiary? Was it too much to think that maybe, despite all the reasons to believe the contrary, the Wildcats might just catch a break? Could Northwestern fans, besieged constantly by reminders of their program's historic futility, finally feel the freedom of belief?

The short answer? No.

"It's very tough," Northwestern guard Drew Crawford said.

"Disappointing," forward John Shurna said. "Kind of a tough way to go out."

Wednesday night was Shurna's senior night, an honor he shared with Davide Curletti, Nick Fruendt and Luka Mirkovic. Shurna & Co. are the school's all-time winningest class, one that also set a school record with three consecutive postseason appearances.

Of course, none of those postseasons has been of the NCAA tournament variety, which is why Wednesday night's game was so much more than a disappointing loss, so much more than an emotional senior night spoiled by a 75-73 defeat.

Indeed, the game against Ohio State was one of the biggest in Northwestern's history. That title is fresh, because we said the same exact thing in the wake of Feb. 21's home loss to Michigan. And we could say the same again Saturday, when Northwestern travels to Iowa to play its regular-season finale. At this point, every game Northwestern plays is abnormally important for reasons that go beyond conference record or pride or graduating seniors or even a one-year bubble scenario.

Why? You know why: The Wildcats are still searching for their first-ever NCAA tournament bid. This is the only team in a major conference to never visit the NCAA tournament. You have heard about this ignominious distinction more than a few times in the past few weeks (and months and years) because it's impossible to talk about this program without dwelling on its unique, defining story of woe.

Wednesday night was merely another page in that book. At first, the action looked predictable enough. After a quick six minutes of dominant interior play and hot shooting, a focused and freewheeling Ohio State team -- one that looked vastly different from the weekend's home loss to Wisconsin -- had opened an 18-8 lead. By the five-minute mark, the lead was 30-18.

Just before the half, it was all the way up to 39-26, before Shurna made a 3 to cut the deficit to 10, but no matter. Clearly, the Buckeyes were in control.

Ohio State was moving the ball seamlessly against Northwestern's zone, using skip passes and penetration to find easy first looks. Better yet, when the first looks didn't drop, OSU forwards Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas pounced. Together, they combined for 15 offensive rebounds (and 28 total) and carried the Bucks to an eye-popping offensive rebounding percentage of 62.5 percent.

Northwestern -- for which Shurna, who shoots nearly as many 3s as 2s, counts as an interior player, and a team that plays 6-foot-1 guard David Sobolewski in the baseline of its 1-3-1 zone -- had nothing remotely close to an answer.

"They destroyed us on the backboards," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said.

His team's only answer was hope: hope that enough 3s went down to stay within striking distance, hope that Ohio State caught a few bad bounces, hope that the game was just close enough to steal in the end. Lo and behold, that's exactly what happened. The Wildcats gradually cut OSU's lead throughout the second half, first to six, then to five, then to four.

And although Ohio State seemed to have an answer each and every time -- an Aaron Craft 3 here, a Sullinger putback there -- the Cats, led by Shurna and a 13-of-27 mark from 3, and aided by said bad bounces (and a huge JerShon Cobb steal), found themselves down by three. With the ball. With 16 seconds to play.

You've probably already seen what happened next. Guard Alex Marcotullio, against the advice of his better angels, launched what felt like a 30-foot 3. Like all great last-second shots, it seemed to hang in the air forever before splashing through the net and sending Welsh-Ryan Arena into convulsions of euphoria and disbelief.

The only problem: There still were 7 seconds on the scoreboard and Thad Matta called a timeout, and before you could realize it -- before Welsh-Ryan could process what was happening -- Craft was sprinting down the court and heaving the ball ahead to Sullinger, who had established the perfect position to quickly turn and score with his right hand, and now there's 3 seconds left, and Shurna is hoisting a half-court shot that hits the front of the rim and misses, and ... wait. What just happened?

A cynical fan -- or an out-and-out jerk -- probably would say Northwestern happened. This is what Northwestern does, especially in recent seasons. It takes its fans to the brink, to the point of ecstatic belief, before revealing some fresh new horror.

Frankly, if the aforementioned cynic said this to you, it'd be pretty difficult to disagree.

But while the short answer above might have been "no," it was impossible to talk to Crawford and Shurna after the game and not sense some lack of emotional weight. Both were positive, even upbeat, or at least as upbeat as a human being can be after what they had just seen. (Before shooting the above video, I cursorily asked Shurna, "How's it going?" His response: "Ha. I've been better." Note to self: Never use that phrase on a dreary Monday morning again.)

"Obviously it's tough," Crawford said, "but we played great down toward the end of the game, and we're all proud of our team. I think we're a resilient bunch, and we'll be ready to go on Saturday."

Maybe Shurna and Crawford are used to all the will-they-or-won't-they talk by now. Maybe they've chosen to ignore it. It was surely no surprise that every question, press-room murmur and speculative amateur bracketologism Wednesday night dwelled on whether this team would be the one to finally, mercifully end college basketball's most infamous streak.

It was the first question Matta faced when he sat down for his postgame news conference: Is Northwestern a tournament team?

"Yeah," Matta said. "Oh yeah. ... I know this. I would hate on Selection Sunday to have Northwestern come across, to have to play them."

Shurna was quizzed about how, with so much pressure and bubble speculation compounding in the final week of the season, his team could rebound. ("Gotta win," he said.) Crawford was asked whether Wednesday's loss "proved" anything to the selection committee about Northwestern's makeup.

"I don't think a loss means too much," he said, flashing a better understanding of the selection process than his inquisitor.

The truth is, a loss doesn't mean much, if anything. The good news, however, is this: Other bubble teams lost Wednesday night, too, and in Joe Lunardi's most recent bracket update, the Wildcats were still listed as the last team in the tournament. Nothing is guaranteed, but in Northwestern's case, that's a good thing. The Cats might not be safely in the tournament, the way they would have been had Shurna's final prayer been answered, had Matta and and Craft and Sullinger not so ruthlessly executed their final four-second game winner. But this group isn't obviously out of the field, either.

"Had we won the game, it would have been a great win for us," Crawford said. "But that's not really going to keep us down at all. We're excited to finish this season strong. And it starts in practice tomorrow."

And so another five days -- or 11 days -- of bubble speculation will continue. Can this star-crossed program get it done? Can Shurna go out on something more than disappointment? Can Northwestern fans, against all reason and rationale and evidence to the contrary, dare to believe?

The short answer, at least Wednesday night, was no.

But the long answer? Let's wait and see.

INDIANAPOLIS -- When defending Ohio State, you must pick your poison.

You either double-team Jared Sullinger in the paint and risk being shot out of the gym by the Buckeyes’ array of shooters, or you let the big man operate one-on-one.

After watching Ohio State make an NCAA-record 14-of-15 3-pointers Sunday against Wisconsin, Northwestern opted for the latter Friday. It spent most of the afternoon with just one lonely defender watching the freshman strong man.

It almost worked. The underdog Wildcats got the game into overtime, largely by controlling tempo and limiting Ohio State to just 3-of-15 shooting from 3-point range. But Sullinger wouldn’t let Ohio State lose, and made Northwestern pay for its defensive decision.

Sullinger used his broad shoulders and ample derriere to muscle for position, and his teammates delivered the ball. The 6-foot-9, 280-pound teenager wore out every big man Bill Carmody had.

He fouled out Davide Curletti and Luka Mirkovic and drew fouls from John Shurna when he was thrust into defend-the-post service. Sullinger had a Kevin Love line: 20 points and 18 rebounds, and he made 16 of 18 free throws to power Ohio State to a shaky 67-61 victory.

“Gotta make your free throws,” Sullinger said. “Free throws are a big part of my game.”

At one point he scored nine straight Ohio State points, from late in regulation through the first 2:17 of overtime.

“It’s the Big Ten,” Sullinger explained. “This is where you’ve got to be physical. Everyone’s going to foul you.”

Sullinger said the officials “are going to swallow their whistles,” but Northwestern fans would disagree after watching Sullinger’s parade to the foul line. The Wildcats were so frustrated that when Mirkovic was called for his fourth foul in overtime, he spiked his mouthpiece to the floor and drew a technical that got him fouled out.

Not the smartest play from a guy at a brainy school.

“You just can’t make that showy kind of maneuver,” Carmody said. “The ref is not there to interpret whether you did that because you’re mad at yourself or at him. He just sees the action.”

This was the second time Northwestern had pushed Ohio State to the brink, losing by a point in Evanston, Ill. in late January. In that game, Sullinger scored the winning point on a free throw.

“I can’t stand to lose, personally,” he said. “If we’d lost this game, I’d probably be punching lockers, throwing stuff around. You’ve got to hate losing more than you love winning.”

Ohio State has lost only twice this season, so Sullinger hasn’t had to experience much of that. In large part because he won’t let his team lose.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Ohio State dodged a major upset, outlasting Northwestern 67-61 in overtime in the Big Ten quarterfinals. The victory strengthens the Buckeyes' case for an overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney, but it didn't come easy. They trailed late in regulation before asserting control in overtime.

Star of the game: Buckeyes big man Jared Sullinger wore out every big man the Wildcats threw at him. He fouled out Davide Curletti and Luka Mirkovic and drew fouls from John Shurna as well. For the game Sullinger had 20 points and 18 rebounds and shot 18 free throws. With the more veteran Buckeyes all struggling shooting the ball, Sullinger's brute strength was key.

Turning point: Down 56-52 in OT, Mirkovic hit a big 3-pointer. But then he committed his fourth foul against Sullinger, and in frustration slammed his mouthpiece to the ground. That was a technical foul, and that fouled him out. After that Sullinger made six more free throws to ice the game.

Stat of the game: Ohio State shot 14 more free throws and grabbed 17 more rebounds.

What's next: Ohio State advances to the semifinals Saturday to face the winner of Michigan-Illinois. Northwestern hopes that 18-13 will be enough to host an NIT game.

Northwestern was a few wins away from its first NCAA tournament berth last season without Kevin Coble.

The assumption was that if the senior forward returned from a season-ending foot injury a year ago that the Wildcats would finally break the infamous streak, especially with three more berths to be had with the expansion from 34 to 37 at-large bids under the new 68-team format in 2011.

Coble isn’t going to play again for the Wildcats, officially deciding to call his career over and focus on graduating in December. Coach Bill Carmody told ESPN.com Tuesday night that he saw this coming after multiple conversations with Coble over the past few weeks. Coble made it official Monday when he met Carmody in his office in Evanston after Carmody had returned from the road recruiting.

Maybe Carmody was camouflaging his disappointment over the decision but he wasn’t glum when reached by phone Tuesday night. The Wildcats were 7-11 without Coble last season, 20-14 overall and return leading scorer John Shurna, who joined other college players practicing against the U.S. National Team in Las Vegas last week.

Add the return of top scorers Drew Crawford and Michael Thompson in the backcourt, Luka Mirkovic inside with Shurna and fifth-year senior Jeff Ryan, back from an ACL injury, and Carmody sees another team that can be a factor in the Big Ten. The Wildcats add freshman guard Jershon Cobb, who is expected to contribute immediately.

“We’ve got good players,’’ Carmody said. “We’re going to have a nice year.’’

The Wildcats, sans Coble, beat NCAA-bound Notre Dame, Purdue and Minnesota during the regular season before losing at Rhode Island in the first round of the NIT.

One of the reasons for Carmody’s optimism lies with the Wildcats' well-timed trip to Italy next month. Coble wanted to make sure Carmody knew prior to the trip, or the 10 practices that are allowed, which will start on Aug. 16 before a Aug. 28 departure. He didn’t want to be wavering, go on the trip and then not play. That’s fine with Carmody. Now he knows he won’t have to figure out if Coble will be on the squad. Ryan isn’t cleared to play, but he’ll be on the trip to continue to be a leader. Carmody expects Ryan to be ready for the season. Cobb can go on to Italy under a new rule allowing freshmen to travel on summer foreign trips.

If the Wildcats are going to bond, find their identity and purpose for this season without Coble, the timing of the trip to Italy is perfectly placed.

“When I took a team at Princeton on a trip like this it turned out to be fantastic for us,’’ Carmody said. “We ended up having a nice year. We don’t start school until late September. So this is going to be real important for us. The practices are going to be something that will get us ready for next year.’’

The Big Ten has at least two national title contenders in Michigan State and Purdue. Ohio State won’t be too far behind with the addition of possible national freshman of the year in Jared Sullinger. Expect Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota to be NCAA tournament teams, as well. Iowa, Penn State, Michigan and Indiana are projected to be in the bottom four in some order and out of the postseason contention.

That leaves Northwestern in the middle, just like a year ago, with a chance to go in either direction. Having a healthy Coble may have tipped the Wildcats finally toward a bid. Knowing he’s unavailable in July and going on the trip to Italy in August to jump start the season should give the Wildcats a chance to figure out if they can finally be relevant on Selection Sunday.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Northwestern came out hot and claimed an early lead before Purdue rallied behind stifling defense and the brilliance of junior guard E'Twaun Moore.

A few thoughts halfway through a good one.

• Purdue missed 13 of its first 16 field-goal attempts but didn't let the cold shooting have any effect on the defensive end. Northwestern generally handles the ball well, but the Boilers forced 11 turnovers in the opening half.
• Moore scored 16 of the Boilers' first 24 points and hit three 3-pointers in less than two minutes to spark a nice run late in the half. He's really taking control in the absence of star forward Robbie Hummel and not hesitating on any shooting opportunities.
• Much like his last game against Northwestern, Purdue center JaJuan Johnson found himself in early foul trouble. But after briefly leaving the floor with two fouls, the junior provided a jolt of offense for an otherwise cold Boilermakers team. If Johnson can avoid the whistles in the second half, he could be a difference-maker for Purdue.
• Northwestern center Luka Mirkovic has struggled mightily away from Evanston this season, but he's showing how he can affect a game tonight. Before leaving the floor with two fouls, Mirkovic passed the ball extremely well out of the post, finding shooters open for 3-pointers. And tonight, Northwestern is knocking down its open 3s. Fouls limited Mirkovic's effectiveness in the half, but he should be a factor in the final 20 minutes.
• The Wildcats were a two-man team (Michael Thompson and John Shurna) for most of Big Ten play, but they're getting more from other players for the second straight tournament game. Freshman Drew Crawford, who is battling a multitude of injuries right now, has 10 first-half points. Jeremy Nash is contributing at the foul line.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Four quarterfinal matchups in the Big Ten tournament are on tap today.

Let's take a quick look at each one.

No. 1 seed Ohio State vs. No. 8 seed Michigan (ESPN, noon ET)

Records: Ohio State (24-7), Michigan (15-16)

Season series: The teams split two matchups, with Michigan winning 73-64 in Ann Arbor and Ohio State prevailing 66-55 in Columbus on Feb. 27.

Advancement: Winner faces Wisconsin or Illinois in Saturday's first semifinal (CBS, 1:40 p.m. ET)

What to watch for Ohio State: National Player of the Year front-runner Evan Turner makes his first appearance in the Big Ten tournament, as Ohio State eyes a possible No. 1 seed in next week's NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes could sneak in to the top line, but only if they win the Big Ten tournament. Turner had 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in the teams' last meeting after sitting out a Jan. 3 game at Michigan with a broken back. Ohio State ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring defense (60.4 ppg) and will try to contain Michigan star forward DeShawn Sims with Dallas Lauderdale.

What to watch for Michigan: The Wolverines need a complete performance to beat the surging Buckeyes, and they'll look for big things from guard Manny Harris, who looked good in Thursday's first-round win against Iowa (22 points, 9 rebounds). Michigan played stifling defense for most of the Iowa win and needs a similar effort against Turner, David Lighty and William Buford. The good news is U-M seems to match up decently with Ohio State this year. "We beat them for a whole game, beat them for a half," Wolverines forward Zack Novak said Thursday. "They got us for one half this year, so we’re confident going in."

No. 4 seed Wisconsin vs. No. 5 seed Illinois (ESPN, 25 minutes after Michigan-Ohio State)

Records: Wisconsin (23-7), Illinois (18-13)

Season series: The teams split two meetings, with each squad winning on the other's home floor. Illinois stunned Madison at the Kohl Center on Feb. 9, but Wisconsin surged to a 72-57 rout Sunday in Champaign.

Advancement: Winner plays Ohio State or Michigan in Saturday's first semifinal.

What to watch for Wisconsin: The Badgers might be the hottest team in this tournament, having won four consecutive games. It's no secret the surge has coincided with the healthy return of forward Jon Leuer, who won Big Ten Player of the Week honors last week. Leuer (14.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and forward Keaton Nankivil (8.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg) really balance out Wisconsin's offense and will put pressure on Illinois bigs Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis. The Badgers flustered Illinois star Demetri McCamey in Sunday's win and need a similar defensive effort from Jordan Taylor.

What to watch for Illinois: McCamey's sideline confrontation with head coach Bruce Weber generated plenty of national attention, and it will be interesting to see how the mercurial star responds today. Illinois needs its best player to be at his best against a jelling Badgers team. The Illini are only 1-5 since their win in Madison and need to find other ways to score if the outside shots aren't falling. They also must rebound better after Wisconsin crashed the offensive glass well in Sunday's game.

No. 2 seed Purdue vs. No. 7 seed Northwestern (Big Ten Network, 6:30 p.m. ET)

Records: Purdue (26-4), Northwestern (20-12)

Season series: Northwestern won the teams' only meeting, 72-64, on Jan. 16, which marked Purdue's last loss with a healthy Robbie Hummel.

Advancement: Winner faces Michigan State or Minnesota in Saturday's second semifinal (CBS, 25 minutes after first semifinal).

What to watch for Purdue: After a rough start in its first game without Hummel, Purdue rallied last week for two wins. The Boilers need a strong effort today from center JaJuan Johnson, who was a nonfactor before fouling out against Northwestern the last time the teams met. Senior guard Chris Kramer also had a rough outing in Evanston and needs to be a bigger factor on both ends of the floor. Purdue's suffocating man-to-man defense could be the difference tonight. "Instead of someone picking you up at 21 feet, they pick you up at 90 feet," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said.

What to watch for Northwestern: The Wildcats actually match up well against Purdue. They have won two of the teams' last three meetings and choked away a big lead in the only defeat. Standout freshman wing Drew Crawford is very banged-up -- he had at least three ice packs on his body after Thursday's win -- so Northwestern needs production from other spots. Point guard Michael Thompson stepped up big against Indiana (16 points), but senior guard Jeremy Nash and sophomore center Luka Mirkovic need stronger performances today.

No. 3 seed Michigan State vs. No. 6 seed Minnesota (Big Ten Network, 25 minutes after Purdue-Northwestern game)

Records: Michigan State (24-7), Minnesota (19-12)

Season series: Michigan State won both meetings, but only by a combined eight points. After a 60-53 win in East Lansing, the Spartans needed a huge shot from Kalin Lucas to outlast Minnesota, 65-64, on Jan. 23 at Williams Arena.

Advancement: Winner faces Purdue or Northwestern in Saturday's second semifinal.

What to watch for Michigan State: The Spartans come off of a strong showing against Michigan on Sunday but will be without junior guard Chris Allen, who is suspended for the game. Allen ranks fourth on the team in scoring (9.1 ppg), and his absence will put a bigger burden on starting shooting guard Durrell Summers. Michigan State's front line has played better as of late and needs a strong performance against Minnesota bigs Damian Johnson, Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson. The Spartans haven't been great defensively this year, but they have held their last six opponents to just 57.2 points per game.

What to watch for Minnesota: After two blowout wins against bottom feeders, the Gophers can really boost their NCAA tournament hopes with a win today. They paced Michigan State in both games and endured one of several heartbreaking losses in the meeting at The Barn. If seniors Johnson and Lawrence Westbrook continue to answer the bell like they did Thursday, and if Devoe Joseph builds on a strong performance, Minnesota will be tough to beat. "Last time we played Michigan State we lost by one point," Joseph said, "and we made a lot of mistakes in the last four minutes, so I definitely think we can pull off the upset."

INDIANAPOLIS -- It wasn't pretty on either side, but No. 10 seed Indiana holds a 3-point lead on No. 7 Northwestern at halftime of a first-round matchup. A wild tip-in by Northwestern star John Shurna just before the buzzer makes this a one-possession game heading to the second half.

Quick thoughts:

• Given that 3-point shooting is Northwestern's bread and butter, the Wildcats are extremely fortunate to be down by only three points. The Wildcats missed 13 of their first 14 attempts from long range and finished the first half a miserable 2-for-18. They'll certainly need that percentage to go up in the second half.
• After struggling inside a bit early, Indiana did the dirty work late in the half and finished strong. Freshman forward Derek Elston was particularly impressive with eight points and five rebounds, and freshman forward Christian Watford added seven points and three boards.
• Hoosiers guard Verdell Jones III continues to impress with nine first-half points on 3-of-5 shooting. If this game is close down the stretch, Jones likely will have the ball in his hands.
• Defense has kept Northwestern in the game, which comes as a surprise after the team's poor defensive showing Saturday at Indiana and for much of Big Ten play. The Wildcats have three steals and four blocks in the opening half, and a 18-16 edge in rebounds. NU outscored Indiana 16-8 in the paint. Bill Carmody's team likely will need more offense from point guard Michael Thompson (3 points) and center Luka Mirkovic (zero points) to win this game.