Northwestern Men's Basketball is in the midst of a much needed week off after a brutal three-game losing stretch. Two of those losses came against Big Ten rivals in Wisconsin and Ohio State.
Last we saw the 'Cats, after losing to the Buckeyes in Evanston, the mood was low. Chris Collins was visibly frustrated, lamenting his team's defensive struggles and promising to exhaust all options to get it fixed.
Team leader Nick Martinelli spoke about how the players need to do better. He was also visibly upset in the post game presser.
It was a bad scene, but it was one the Wildcats had to go through. They simply didn't play well over the past few games, and it didn't inspire a ton of optimism or confidence that they can turn things around.
But Collins also said he wouldn't allow this group to splinter. And if there's one thing I believe, it's exactly that -- Chris Collins will have his team ready to compete night in and night out. That's a fact of life.
Collins is human, though. He's a great coach, but sometimes teams just don't have it. It's certainly too early to make that proclamation about Northwestern, but it's not too early to say it's going down that road. Now is the time for changes and improvement. The question is -- what can realistically be fixed before the Wildcats begin Big Ten play in earnest?
Northwestern opens conference play against Minnesota on January 3. Before that, it plays Jackson State, Valparaiso, Butler and Howard -- not exactly the blue bloods of college basketball.
In some ways, that will make improvement more difficult to judge. But I think it's also a great opportunity for Northwestern try some things out on defense and see what sticks.
The first two games are crucial because Butler will be a real test. The Bulldogs are 7-2 on the season and look to be better than preseason Big East projections led us to believe. Northwestern could easily lose that game, but it will be an opportunity for them to truly test whatever the new defensive strategy is.
So, there's one thing -- defense. I'm not sure I believe Collins can "fix" this defense, but I absolutely believe he can make it better. This stretch of games is the perfect opportunity to do so, and Butler even provides a chance to see if it works against higher-level competition.
Another thing Collins can do is figure out the best rotation. Right now, it feels like a lot of players don't necessarily know their roles. It's time for the head coach to define it for them. I'd like to see some more consistency during this stretch.
It's important that we don't shy away from the scary reality, though. Yes, I believe the defense can get better. I believe players can carve out roles and the identity of the team can grow stronger. But if you ask me, flat out, are they good enough to improve to a tournament-caliber team? I'm not so sure. It's too early to count them out, but it isn't too early to start asking that question. This stretch will be telling.