Men's Basketball: NU Picks Up Pieces from Loss

Coach Bill Carmody said after Northwestern's 70-37 loss to Illinois on Sunday that nothing went right. The Wildcats scored the first three points of the game and never saw the lead again, shooting 31 percent on the night. The Wildcats fell to 0-7 in the Big Ten for the first time since 2003 (the team won its eighth conference game, against Indiana).

Northwestern struggled to get much going offensively and were beaten defensively by an athletic Illinois team, which was also struggling at the bottom of the Big Ten standings.

The loss left the Cats searching for answers heading into their final non-conference game Wednesday night against Texas-Pan American and the rest of the Big Ten schedule ahead.

"We really need to just focus on what we do and not worry about the other team so much," sophomore forward Jeff Ryan said. "We’re making a lot of mistakes ourselves. We’re beating ourselves with turnovers and mistakes on defense. It’s just getting back to doing what we do best and trying to work hard in practice every day."

Carmody said what the other team does is not important. He is concerned more with how the team is playing together and how it plays offensively and defensively more than with NU's opponents. He said the Cats need to play well to get a win.

Sophomore forward Kevin Coble called Sunday's game a "fluke." He said the game was a step backward and the team needs to continue to progress and find positives in each game.

Players were in early Tuesday working on individual workouts and individual games. Carmody hopes the hard work comes together starting Wednesday.

"We need a win and you have to play well," Carmody said. "It’s real basic. I think the guys are playing hard. The guys are coming in for extra shooting and extra individual stuff and it’s got to pay off."