Men's Basketball: Cats Feel First Win is Near

Northwestern walked off the floor at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Tuesday night the closest it has been this season to a conference win. The Wildcats had two Craig Moore 3-pointers hit off the front rim which potentially could have won the game. Instead Iowa walked off with the 53-51 win.

The loss was the team's first by less than 10 points and was nearly the breakthrough win the team has been looking for since the beginning of the conference season in January.

"We haven't won in a while, so we almost have to remember how to win and control a game," Moore said. "(Tuesday) we were struggling a little bit in the first half, but we were playing great defense, getting rebounds and not letting them get second chances. We knew in the second half we were going to shoot better and we did that. But we didn't fight hard enough on defense."

NU has rarely played with a lead late in the game, but the team has played in competitive games throughout the conference season.

The Cats held a 14-point lead against Iowa on Tuesday, but also had a two-point lead against No. 14 Purdue on Saturday after coming from behind early in the second half. NU also trailed by single digits in recent games against Ohio State, No. 19 Michigan State and No. 15 Indiana.

The Cats trailed by just six points with less than eight minutes to play at Bloomington, Ind. on Feb. 3. The Hoosiers travel to Evanston in the Cats' next game Saturday.

The close calls have been disheartening and frustrating for this team, but it should help them gain experience for the next time they play with a lead.

"We had a lead and we haven’t had that big of a lead all Big Ten season," senior guard Jason Okrzesik said. "Coach (Bill Carmody) was saying at the end, ‘We don’t know how to play with a lead,’ and you can tell it out there. I think it’s something we need to work on in practice."

Okrzesik said experience is the only way to learn how to manage a lead. With 13 conference losses, playing with a lead is a premium NU has not been able to afford.

The two most recent games, where the Cats have held a lead in the second half, are signs the team is on the verge of piecing together its first conference win.

"We’re right there and we know it. We’ve just got to keep going and keep plugging away," Moore said. "We come back to practice Thursday, we just have to have the same enthusiasm we had the last two days and know we’re right there."