Michael “Juice” Thompson is a terrible liar.

“We haven’t been discussing the NCAA tournament,” the senior point guard said in Saturday’s post game press conference. The media room at Welsh-Ryan Arena—crowded with journalists and cameras—collectively snickered under its breath. Even Thompson flashed a small smile.

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Stretches like this past week give a perfect example of just why we should all hate Northwestern basketball. This season was supposed to be “The Year,” when the Wildcats would erase their names from the annals of infamy. But Kevin Coble’s departure, a few key injuries and poor play left the Cats down and out, in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten.

And just when we counted them out, after five losses to Top 25 teams including a 32-point shellacking by Wisconsin, they start playing as if a lightning bolt struck every single one of them.

The story of NU basketball is the story of heartbreaks and nail-biters, of lead changes, highs, lows and everything in between. It’s the story of using every last one of your nine lives. It’s the story of which no one knows the ending. And last week proved it.

The ‘Cats nearly pulled off what would have been the biggest win in program history on January 29, falling to No. 1 Ohio State 58-57. Yesterday, the team earned its first victory against a ranked opponent this season when it beat No. 24 Illinois 71-70.

For a squad that has become a perennial bubble team for NCAA Tournament selection, strong wins like yesterday’s can’t be discounted. After the game, coach Bill Carmody said the victory could mean a lot for the ‘Cats moving into their final six regular season games.

“Maybe you get over the hump,” he said. “It certainly is great for our guys and we’ll enjoy this for a little bit.”

But not for too long. There is very little time for NU (14-8, 4-7 Big Ten) to make a tournament push. The team’s final two games are against Top 20 teams, including an away matchup at Wisconsin. If Carmody & Co. want to make the tournament and history, they’ll need to win the rest of their regular season games and make a strong push in the Big Ten Tournament.

Remember, the ‘Cats had 20 wins last season—including one over No. 6 Purdue—and still didn’t make the tournament. So nothing is certain. If, and only if, NU wins out, it will make a compelling case for the selection committee come March.

Yesterday’s win over the Illini injected a bit of the all-too-familiar franticness NU basketball embodies so perfectly into our systems. It gave us reason to care again, to bite our nails and sit on the edges of our seats.

And if the ‘Cats keep winning, Juice Thompson won’t have to lie for very much longer.

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