Struggles for Northwestern basketball have been all too common this season.

Losses to Minnesota and top-ranked Ohio State were not as ugly as previous Big Ten losses. This makes them even more frustrating to deal with.

The ‘Cats stayed in both games, showing both experience and running the offense well. Bill Carmody was somewhat vindicated from recent criticism as his switch to the 1-3-1 defense at Minnesota and his entire game-plan against Ohio State were brilliant moves, and nearly won the ‘Cats games.

Northwestern’s run in the Minnesota game didn’t last long. NU took a four-point lead early in the second half, but Minnesota almost immediately found Northwestern’s biggest weakness: interior play. The Gophers displayed incredible passing in the post, and used their size advantage to bully Northwestern.

Northwestern’s response? Fire away from the perimeter. The ‘Cats attempted 39 three-pointers in the game, but made just 12. As the old adage goes, “ you live by the three, you die by the three.” Last night, NU proved that adage true.

Here, Bill Carmody again looked to role of a poor in-game coach. Northwestern’s offense made no adjustments, continued to fire away poor shots, and only stayed in the game because Drew Crawford stepped up in a big way in his outside shooting. Once Minnesota figured out how to beat Northwestern’s defense, there was no switch made, and the same weakness was exploited constantly in the second half.

Yes, you can toss up as many three pointers as you want, and it will certainly help you win a few games (Iowa on the road, for example) but you cannot beat superior opponents that way, especially superior opponents with good interior play.

Ohio State was a different story. The Buckeyes run a fast-paced, transition game, but the ‘Cats were able to slow the pace down substantially. They forced Ohio State to play half-court basketball, thus limiting the Buckeyes to two three pointers in the game. In the end, it was a lack of size that left the ‘Cats on the wrong end of their upset bid.

The game was indicative of Northwestern’s biggest problem this season: they can beat up on inferior opponents, but cannot make the transition into defeating the top teams in the conference.

And therein lies the problem. NU has cemented itself into the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. So far this year, the ‘Cats haven’t lost to a single team they were supposed to beat (with the possible exception of St. Johns) and haven’t beat a single team they were supposed to lose to.

It may just be a mental problem, as John Shurna hinted in postgame quotes after the Minnesota game. And it is encouraging that coming off a disastrous 32-point loss to Wisconsin, NU stayed somewhat close against Minnesota. That shows some mental strength with room for improvement.

But that in and of itself is a problem. Congratulating the team for staying close against superior foes is a moral victory, and Northwestern can no longer afford to be the king of moral victories.

Assuming that the ‘Cats don’t go to the tournament this year, and it is predicted that they won’t, something needs to change. Two potential realizations occurred after the Minnesota loss: either this team is underachieving or this team is realizing their identity and limitations.

A change is necessary, and might come in several ways. Either through a coaching change (though the athletic department has pledged its support to Carmody through the recent two-year contract extension), a change in offensive or defensive style, or a general attitude change. No matter how the team chooses to adapt, it has become increasingly obvious that until it does, NU will continue to be a program stuck on the brink of success, but failing to clear the hurdle.

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