With Minnesota next up on its schedule, Northwestern was recovering after a loss to then-No. 10 Maryland. The Wildcats were 14-9 overall and 7-5 in Big Ten play. Not bad at all. In fact, pretty good.
Northwestern was only on the fringes of the NCAA Tournament conversation, but with its recent run of play trending up and with winnable games ahead, the ‘Cats controlled their own destiny and with enough good performances could likely play themselves into the Big Dance. With four games left in the season, they had their eyes on a top-four spot in the Big Ten Tournament.