The Minute After: Northwestern

Thoughts on an 84-83 loss to the Wildcats:

This is not the Northwestern of old.

The Wildcats are one of the best defensive teams in the country. It showed today. While they don’t overpower with pressure or athleticism, don’t run a specialized system they’ve run for years they recruit to, their ability to steal and block the ball was a major factor in this one. Northwestern turned Indiana over on nearly a quarter of its possessions this afternoon (22 percent) and it helped lead to a serious disadvantage in points off turnovers. The Wildcats won that battle 25-6.

And yet, despite the Hoosiers sitting at just .88 points per possession around midway through the second half and finding themselves…