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Exhausted

The Cats are exhausted.

The effort was really, really good.

So gutsy to run a play for Langborg — cold all night, but had just nailed one.

Shots weren’t falling for Barnhizer, but he was a consistent presence on the boards and was called for a foul for getting run over.

I’m tired too.
An optimist, but there is a lot missing right now.

Honestly, I want the Cats to beat Minnesota this weekend, and I want to see Boo rest for the BTT so that he’s ready to go with almost two weeks off.

Quiet board after a tough loss.

Cats set to host top 2025 targets for Saturday's spring practice


@lou v has the list for Northwestern's visitors this weekend for the first week of spring practice. The Wildcats are hosting 13 different recruits, including two quarterbacks, on Saturday.

Can we put these two things to bed, please?

1) “We’re not in yet.” 10 quad 1+2 wins, 12 league wins, and a top five player in the country. It is only a message board panic party and not a fun one. We’ve played our last seven down two starters and gone 4-3 with two road wins in the league (this equals Wiscy’s total B10 road wins and is one less than Sparty who counts @Michigan as one). All questions have been answered, including can we compete with a depleted roster. The only thing the injuries cost us is a chance at a top five seed because this resume stacks against teams 15-40 very favorably. The Chicago State loss was a clear outlier that skews our metrics disproportionately and the prognosticators and committee have reacted accordingly. Only on this board is “we’re in trouble” a thing.

2) “We weren’t a deep team to begin with.” Huh? Few teams use more than 8 in a rotation. We are playing guys 9-11 regularly now and they are showing they belong, including the no name walk on. Are they elite 30 minute a game guys? No. But they’re not getting their doors blown off in a physical major conference. Buie, Barn, Lang, and Martinelli are starters or at least heavy rotation guys on every team in the country. Period. Zero exceptions. This isn’t Jitim or Vedran and a crew of misfits against the world We have talent and lots of it and our depth guys are playing with toughness and poise when the chips are on the table.

As a fan this two season stretch has been pure joy and the hand-wringing, while understandable, feels false. Breathe deep and soak up this season.

We better beat Minnesota or we’re gonna be in trouble

I have no idea why it seems the consensus is we’re “in” regardless of the rest of the season. If we lose out the committee is going to “FSU us” saying we are down 2 starters and as a result are a different team. Moral victories don’t mean squat. I’m so damn proud of how this team has played and the heart they show but tonight was a major missed opportunity. We must beat the Gophers or I’m afraid we’re looking at a 1 seed in the NIT.

I have not lost the faith and will be cheering like a maniac Saturday in Section 218. If you are in the Chicago area, spread the word we need as many ‘Cats fans as possible at the Welsh Saturday. I will be buying beers. Go ‘Cats!

Northwestern offer leaves 2025 RB Javin Gordon 'in shock'


@lou v talked to 2025 RB Javin Gordon about his offer from Northwestern. Gordon amassed more than 2,000 all-purpose yards for Toccoa (Ga.) Stephens County last season.
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Hard to win on the road, Part 23

Because I'm a glutton for punishment I made this chart. The six close road games NU lost. Yes, there are also close road games NU won, and maybe they've made comebacks or closed in other games that offset these, but they all hurt, and NU was in all of these games until the last few minutes (or seconds).

Opponent
Date
Final
Late Score
Lost Lead/Tie
Wisconsin​
1/13​
63-71​
63-63​
2:32​
Nebraska​
1/20​
69-75​
65-65​
3:29​
Purdue​
1/31​
96-105 (OT)​
81-80 (Reg)
87-87 (OT)​
0:15 (Reg)
2:42 (OT)​
Minnesota​
2/3​
66-75 (OT)​
58-56 (Reg)
63-63 (OT)​
0:44 (Reg)
2:31 (OT)​
Rutgers​
2/15​
60-63​
58-58​
0:56​
Michigan St.​
3/6​
49-53​
46-45​
3:18​

I would guess that a lot of other teams could make a chart that looks similar, but NU was blown out on the road just once. What does this data mean? Are they wearing down late? Can they not close? Is Boo not as clutch as we thought? Meaningless numbers? Do with it what you will.

I know a lot of people think NU can't win in the BTT because of its history, but maybe without hometown cooking, they can win a game or two on a neutral site.
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Bubble watch

I am absolutely still of the mindset we are not yet in. We need one more win. With that being said, here’s the bubble watch.

- Oregon lost
- Mississippi State lost
- NC State lost
- Minnesota won (fringe bubble but they will be highly motivated against us next Saturday)
- South Florida won (advanced metrics hate them but they’re pretty good record wise)

Anyone I miss?

We want MSU to lose, Oklahoma to lose and TCU to lose I believe. But someone who is more of a bracketologist help me if you’d like hah.

Wildcats falter late in 53-49 loss at Michigan State


Northwestern pushed Michigan State to the brink but came up short down the stretch in a 53-49 loss. Here are our takeaways from tonight's game.
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