In the Big Ten, no games come easy. At 1-8 in the Big Ten, they really don't.
With that being said, Northwestern is approaching a comparatively easy two-game stretch in its schedule this week. On Thursday and then Saturday it gets Penn State and Washington respectively, and both games are at Welsh-Ryan.
If the 'Cats are, in fact, better than their record says they are -- which they've been saying for weeks -- then now is the time to prove it and turn this season around.
Now, I want to stop here quickly and define "turning around the season," because the reality is that this team isn't going to play in the NCAA Tournament. In my view, though, it can still make the most out of this year.
This team has Nick Martinelli, and we have to stop taking that for granted. The guy is a stud, and there's no way around it anymore. Numbers don't lie, and his numbers are simply absurd. They have been for two years now.
Last season's team didn't make the tournament either, but we still look back on it fondly because of how Northwestern fought until the end. We remember Brooks Barnhizer and we remember Martinelli's emergence. We remember Keenan Fitzmorris and his electric fist pumps.
Making this season memorable in a positive way is still possible, and that's what the 'Cats are playing for at this point. Be a spoiler team to other programs in the Big Ten. Win a few games you weren't supposed to win.
It all starts this week against two opponents that should be beatable.
The Nittany Lions are currently 9-10 on the season and 0-8 in conference. Northwestern will be favored at home probably by more than it will be in any conference game this season.
I think the matchup is also good for the Wildcats because Penn State struggles defensively, and this Northwestern team has shown the ability to fill it up at times. For reference, PSU gave up 96 to Maryland and then 98 to Wisconsin in its past two games.
Kayden Mingo is a threat offensively, and Northwestern will have to continue to improve its defense, an aspect of its game that was terrible once upon a time and has slowly gotten better. But if the 'Cats play solid D, I have a hard time believing they won't win this one.
Then, on Saturday, Northwestern will see an 11-9 Washington team that is 3-6 in the conference. Then Huskies are markedly better than Penn State, but they're still beatable. Expect the 'Cats to be favored in this one, too.
If Northwestern can knock off both of these opponents this week, I think that's a big deal. Sure, 3-8 still doesn't look great, and the schedule in the coming weeks is, well, suspect. But you have to start somewhere, and momentum matters in college hoops.
If the 'Cats are going to have any chance during the gauntlet of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska that's coming in early February, then it needs a little bit of that momentum. Now is the time to build it.