Northwestern apparently not the greatest b-ball team in the country

You're reading live from Welsh-Ryan Arena, where the noise you hear in the background is the work crew polishing the floor after Michigan State just got done mopping it with the Wildcats.

Actually, that's a little bit of hyperbole. NU led by 1 point at the break in a game the 10th-ranked Spartans won 77-66, but it was clear that there's still a substantial difference between Tom Izzo's bunch and Bill Carmody's crew.

Both coaches talked about how there were too many open shots at both ends of the floor. While the Spartans hit 47 percent overall and 9 of 16 on 3-pointers, the Wildcats shot just 40 percent and 9 of 29 on 3-pointers.

Northwestern's stats were skewed slightly because, contrary to Izzo's belief that his team didn't play much defense, there were at least four or five possessions where NU flung up hopeless 3-pointers just to beat the shot clock.

Regardless, the Spartans' superior shooting percentage was the most important factor in the game -- even more than MSU's 47-28 dominance of the boards. Though the Spartans had 19 offensive rebounds, they turned them into just 15 points. That wasn't too many more than NU's 10 second-chance points.

Junior forward Kevin Coble probably summed up the game (and Northwestern's immediate future) the best:
"We ran our stuff. We did a good job. They couldn't stop us, we couldn't really stop them. It sort of went back and forth. Unfortunately, those are battles that we'll lose regardless of who we're playing in the Big Ten."

OTHER THOUGHTS:
--Somewhere in the rafters on the south side, a chant of "We Want Shurna" rose from a chunk of the crowd when Northwestern trailed 60-52 with eight minutes to go.

If Bill Carmody could have edited that cheer, he would have tacked a "To Play Defense" on the end of it.

Shurna, the 6-8 freshman from Glenbard West, played the game's first 13 minutes. But thereafter, he saw just five minutes of action as he struggled with the Spartans' superior forwards. He finished with 5 points, 1 rebound and 1 block.

"Tonight, I just thought on defense he just missed some assignments," said Carmody, who also suggested his other freshmen had their share of missed assignments. "He's a pretty good player right now. I think he's going to get better. He cares. But like a lot of high school guys, defense is not his strength right now. He's got to keep working on it."

--With his 3-pointer late in the first half, senior guard Craig Moore became the 27th Wildcat to eclipse the 1,000-point mark. Moore has 1,015 points for his career, which vaulted him past Rich Falk (who was in attendance) for 26th on NU's all-time list.

Moore, who doesn't mind mixing it up a little bit with the opposition, also appeared to be in a running "conversation" with Michigan State senior guard Travis Walton during the second half. It came to a head after Moore took a charge from Walton leading into the timeout with 7:57 to go. When the teams came back on the floor, the officials counseled everyone to knock it off.

"Moore is one of the guys on our team that plays with emotion," Carmody said. "I wish some of my other guys would do that because you have to in this game."

--NU's three-headed center (Kyle Rowley, Luka Mirkovic and Ivan Peljusic) put up better numbers than in the Big Ten opener at Penn State. Thanks to Mirkovic's career-high 9 points, the trio finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block and just 1 turnover in 39 minutes.

Carmody likes the points, but he wants more rebounds and some better defense.

--Michigan State senior forward Goran Suton, who's a legit all-Big Ten player in my book, struggled with foul trouble and finished with 6 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes. His woes reminded me of one of my favorite quotes from Big Ten media day back in late October.

Me: "Who do you least like to face in the league?"
GS: "Northwestern. I hate guarding their offense. I usually get stuck with Coble or somebody who can shoot the 3 and do a whole bunch of things and make me look bad."

And with that, it's time to hop into the Straight Hoops Express and drive with a heavy foot to Ann Arbor. The Illini tip off in less than 13 hours...

LW