Northwestern moves to 12-1, the program's best non-conference mark since the 1930s.
On paper Northwestern's non-conference slate looks about as pretty as anyone could have foreseen. A lone loss to a top-ten team in North Carolina is the only blemish on the Wildcats 12-1 non-conference record, the program's best mark since the 1930s.
The arrow for this team should be pointing up, right? Northwestern should have very realistic hopes of making the program's first NCAA Tournament, right?
Not so fast. Those hopes took a slight hit even ahead of Northwestern's 74-59 win over Loyola (Maryland) on Sunday night and, for almost 30 minutes, almost took a near-lethal hit.