Wolverines topple Cats
Michigan defeated Northwestern, 71-61, Wednesday night as Daniel Horton scored 24. Vedran Vukusic scored 22 and T.J. Parker added 18 for the Cats.
Mohammed Hachad managed to play only six minutes due to a sore groin, while Tim Doyle played 25, but was unable to score. Chalk that up as the mark of futility for the year.
Things won't get easier for Northwestern as top-ranked Illinois visits Evanston on Saturday.
Comments
I didn't see the game, but it sounds like the Cats were right there, down by three points with five minutes to play.
It's a little disheartening to see the Cats do just about everything right (they shot 47% from the field, 75% from the line, 50% from three-point territory AND outrebounded Michigan) and still lose.
Given the thin roster and the travel difficulties, it would have been a gift to get this win. That said, not getting it really hurts NU's postseason chances. This was a winnable game on the road against a decent team. A victory would have been really nice going into the Illinois game.
Posted by: Matt | January 13, 2005 08:22 AM
The lack of depth is crushing them right now. The flu and now Hachad's groin injury can't be overcome because they have no bench players. An NIT berth appears unlikely. The Big Ten is so much better now. Illinois could be the best team in the country, Wisconsin and Michigan State are always good, Iowa is vastly improved and even Ohio State appears to be much better than last year.
Posted by: Greg Shea | January 13, 2005 04:05 PM